Bleach Triple Plus BTP
by v1r1d1an
Summary: Hollows are scary, especially when they reside in your soul and threaten to destroy you from the inside, Ichigo and Layne know this all too well, but you can't just stop being a Shinigami. Current Arc No.3 - Arrancar/ OC Centric/ Chap 40 - Ignition
1. Chapter 1: Enter the Sleepers

"Bah", Layne thought to himself as he made the usual trudge all the way to school at 7:30 in the morning. He was 16, in his final year of high school, slightly tanned from unwilling participation in the sun and at the moment, fairly pissed off at himself and two of his so-called friends.

"As usual it's a Monday morning, I'm headed to school, and I didn't get nearly enough sleep last night and by god its freakin' hot today" he murmured to himself shielding his eyes from the morning glare.

"I was up way too late watching anime last night and why? Because Moll and Joel wouldn't let me freakin sleep" he snorted inwardly.

Since Layne lived alone and he was the closest to the school, his best friends Moll and Joel often slept over there to save themselves the commute. Layne didn't really care unless he had a 7:30 start, like Monday's and those other two ungrateful jerks woke up him when he was planning on going late anyway.

"Guess I could catch a few extra winks in English" and so Layne dismissed his useless complaints and moved into the grounds and headed for period 0.

At recess Layne's thoughts were abruptly brought back from his lack of sleep and plans to get more, as his friend Joel, came out from his class. Joel was also 16, in year 12, freakin' huge and had blond hair and blue eyes.

Joel came out of his maths with the usual "Hey baby cakes"; "Sup" Layne replied, leaning his head back against the wall and closing his eyes in a very vain attempt to pass out before end of recess bell.

"You jerks coming back to mine tonight?" Layne continued, "It's Tuesday tomorrow though so we can all sleep in till noon"

"Guess it can't be helped" replied Joel, as Moll arrived, Moll was 16 also in year 12, of Indian descent and at the moment looked like someone had shoved a sword through her gut

"Man I really hate maths, that damned big-nosed idiot won't shut the hell up when I'm trying to talk to everyone" she said angrily

Joel and Layne just glanced at each other unsure of what to say to calm her down. Layne just cocked and eyebrow as if to say to Joel "You've known her longer, you do it"

He was jealous of what Joel and Moll had together. They had been best friends for years long before Layne had sleepwalked into their lives. He didn't want to do the wrong thing by either of them by feeling jealous but it was incredibly hard not to.

"Still up for yours tonight Layne?" asked Moll, which snapped Layne from his chain of thought and back to reality "We can watch some Deathnote"

"Are you serious, you woke me up entirely too early this morning" interrupted Tyler "We are going to marathon One Piece until I pass out tonight"

"Sure whatever" she grinned, seemingly restored to full spirits "I'm up"

They settled into some old, easy, laughing chatter that you wouldn't expect to be so easy between three people who had only know each other less than ten years altogether; but it came naturally to them because they had no one else to share their lives with.

The recess bell rang and the group split up and headed to their respective next class and for Layne than meant going to chemistry and sitting in front of three people who he could do without.

Layne was pretty cheered by the thought of watching One Piece until he passed out that night and not Deathnote, so the rest of the day seemed like a blur to him and he just hoped he hadn't missed anything important during the blur.

As the world came into focus again he was walking to home with Joel and Moll, between the three of them talking about everything and nothing as it came to them.

They were in the middle of a group wide discussion of who would win in a fight when Moll who was a few steps ahead stopped, staring directly ahead with a look of horror etched on her face.

She continued to stare ahead but the other two didn't notice that she hadn't moved for some time until they caught up with her and noticed what she had been staring at.

It was definitely disturbing Layne would later think back and remember; a pulsing black, red and purple hole that had appeared where his house once stood, The gaping maw had appeared to swallow his house leaving only the hole in space.

Moll was dumbstruck "Shit" was the only word her mouth could correctly form

Joel just moved a little closer with his jaw scraping the ground as he moved.

Layne followed Joel a bit closer and Moll just his behind Layne as he moved closer to the thing. Layne gave a weak grin and turned around to look at Joel "Dam good thing that you convinced me not to wag off last"

Layne suddenly gave a surprised shout when a rope like thing that had creeped up on him during his pathetic attempt at humour reached up and wrapped around his waist, coiled up his chest and appeared to puncture just to the right of the heart.

Moll and Joel shouted and started to move over to him as he fell to his knees staring blankly at the rope-thing as it dragged him towards the hole while he vainly attempted to pull it off of him.

Layne shouted "Get the hell away! We don't know what this thing is"

But they continued their attempts at separation

Without warning 2 more rope things snaked out and grabbed Moll and Joel, the three of them were all caught and slowly being dragged into the gaping maw.

A spike that appeared to be made of bone shot out of the maw and looked like it was going to hit Joel but Layne dived in front using the very last of his strength and the spike impaled Layne's wrist instead of Joel but since he had been the first the be attached to the rope Layne just groaned and passed out not having the power to stand the pain.

Moll had been the last one to get captured and could only watch as the ropes and the spike in Layne's wrist seemed to emit a faint glow and seemed to be pumping _something _into the 5 friends,

Both of Tyler's attachments had a deep green theme except the spike was only edged green when a black core, while the rope was fully green and when she focused on it, Moll could swear she could hear rushing water. Looking across she saw that Joel's was red and sounded like a rumbling earthquake. While her own was a translucent white and sounded like a howling gale.

Inevitably Joel who had been the closest to the hole and though he tried his with all his physical prowess to get loose he was powerless to resist the rope and was sucked into the gaping maw

"JOEL!" screamed Moll as he disappeared over the event horizon

Moll had never been one to hide her so called "useless emotions" as Layne so often expressed them so she openly wept, her frustration and sadness coming out as she watched Layne too get closer to the edge

Layne strangely got stuck on the edge strange because Moll could literally see the rope straining to pull him in but he wasn't moving, not being pulled in yet unconscious and unable to get up and escape so as Moll moved past him she grabbed the spike still impaled in his wrist and hung on for dear life.

But the ropes pull was inexorable and as she was pulled in, but so was Layne as the spike was yanked out of his wrist as she fell over the edge.

With the last of her strength before she blacked out she grabbed onto Layne's leg and held it tight as they fell through the gaping maw.


	2. Chapter 2: Faster than a cat's eye

**A/n: Feeling really good cause i finished my chemistry assignment this morning so i decided to kick up and release this chapter as well tonight. apologies for sloppiness it is my first attempt at writing fanfiction and i don't have a beta, just a word spellchecker that insists on correcting things i know are right -_- **

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"Manager?" asked Tessai as he looked inside the door of Urahara's private quarters

"It appears that the test is finished; but there were some complications; you'd better come out and take a look"

"Yes, yes" replied Urahara and the two of them walked outside the store to witness a portal open up in the sky above Karakura town, and streaks of light emerged from the portal and shot out aiming towards the ground before the portal closed.

Urahara smirked "Tessai-san the test appears to have been a complete success"

"Not entirely manager, we detected one of our portals opening up in Seireitei"

Tessai paused for a beat before delivering even worse news.

"Manager, one of the reiatsu signatures we detected read Vizard rather than the Shinigami you specified"

"Seireitei and Vizard" Urahara replied his voice tinged with concern

He paced around for a few seconds and then snapped his fan shut and came to a decision.

"Tessai if you could go track down the Vizard and the other signature that landed here, I need them brought here as soon as possible"

"At once manager" said Tessai as he rushed off to complete the order.

While Urahara looked out at the sky again, specifically at one part in the sky where a certain portal had been and he murmured to himself

"Vizard eh? That was unexpected and certainly not a malfunction; this could turn out to be a both an advantage and serious problem when the time comes" and he stepped back into his store to make some arrangements.

Joel was awakened from his dreams of flying due to a wet feeling all across his back, caused by lying on grass that was soaked in morning dew. He could faintly hear voices discussing something

"Lieutenant level reiatsu while unconscious, but no zanpakuto or uniform; just where did this guy come from?"

The portal that had dropped Joel off in the middle of a Shinigami Women's association meeting had long since vanished but the mystery behind his appearance was not something they intended to let go of easily.

Joel groaned and sat up; eliciting squeals of surprise from the unsuspecting members of the SWA around him.

"Yay Curlyhead is awake" a small childish voice said cheerfully

"Please be quiet president Yachiru I'll try talking to him" a calm controlled voice said

"Ehhhh? Why does Nanao get the first crack at a new guy; you have Captain Kyoraku" a loud exuberant voice exclaimed

"Rangiku-san you get more than enough attention as it is" a timid voice offered up meekly

The voices continued arguing amongst themselves. Joel just fell back into unconsciousness after deciding he was dreaming.

Moll woke up in a bed; to the small surprise of one Kisuke Urahara.

"My, my awake now are we?"

She looked over at the figure sitting next to her bedside. He was wearing a green hat that covered most of his eyes and in a dark green overcoat.

"The name's Kisuke Urahara" and you should go back to sleep until I've finished healing your friend up"

Moll felt so tired she couldn't actually disagree

"Alright but if he's not healed by the time I wake up again I'll kick your ass"

"I'll accept that" he replied grinning

As soon as he exited the room though, his grin faded.

"Seems the fates themselves have decreed that I must condemn kids to great pain" He though silently.

Meanwhile in Seireitei; once the SWA got over the shock of Haz falling down in the middle of their picnic, they quite sensibly agreed to Isane's suggestion to take him to Captain Unohana for an examination.

After Nanao had taken her glasses off to make Yachiru and Matsumoto stop arguing, of course.

On the way to see what his medical condition was, they discussed his future possibilities, it was extremely odd for a Lieutenant class reiatsu to fall out of the blue straight into Seireitei and not Rukongai, but they were all excited at finding a new lieutenant class reiatsu out of the blue.

He could help Captain Ukitake greatly instead of his two constantly bickering third Seats.

Cursing their bad luck that the portal had arrived directly above a SWA meeting the shadows in the background slipped away silently, not really willing to report their failure to Aizen-sama but resolved to do so anyway; besides how were they supposed to know if that particular soul was the Vizard or not.

When they arrived at the 4th division headquarters Captain Unohana examined Joel. The rest of the SWA had gone back to their divisions and only Nemu Kurotsuchi and Isane Kotetsu had remained

Isane because she would probably be asked to take of care for Joel since she was Unohana's Lieutenant

Nemu because Mayuri wanted some samples, and she was personally very curious about Joel, he seemed to invoke emotional responses in her and she knew herself well enough to know that she didn't want Mayuri involved in her research into those.

Unohana came out of Joel's ward

"Captain"

Unohana held up a hand to forestall any further talking from Isane and began speaking

"The boy is in a stable condition but he will need someone to watch him for a while and train him in the Lieutenants arts when he wakes up"

She turned to Nemu "Nemu-san I believe you are the most qualified person for this task at this point in time, If I may be so bold since you aren't that well off with zanjutsu you may ask Lieutenant Abarai to aid you in training him"

"Of course Captain Unohana" Nemu replied unemotionally "Mayuri-sama will need to be informed of my absence"

"I'll take care of it"

Nemu moved inside Joel's room and immediately began taking certain samples; she could always ask Abarai-san to take them down to the 12th later.

Unohana smiled and closed the door

"Come with me Isane there is some things we need to discuss"

She led Isane to her office and poured her a cup of tea

"There is something big happening Isane and the upcoming execution of Kuchiki Rukia is only the beginning. I believe Nemu-san and the boy will play a large part in it and we have to do everything we can to aid them.

"Yes Captain"

Back in the Urahara store Layne was just waking up.

"You sleep for too damn long you jerk" he heard a familiar voice say.

"What the hell Moll, It's too damned early for sane people to be awake"

With that statement he sat up groaning; when he opened his eyes he noticed a couple of things. One he wasn't in either his, Moll's or Joel's house. Secondly but far more importantly Moll was crying.

"Shit Moll haven't I told you that it's not bloody use worrying about a train-wreck like me?"

"Shut the hell up" she replied wiping her tears away "I'm not crying cause I though you would die, In case you haven't noticed; Joel isn't here with us and we don't know if he survived that trip through the hole.

With the mention of that hole Layne's memories came flooding back he immediately remembered his wrist being pierced. But checking it the only trace of a hole he could see was a small mark that looked like it was glowing black and green.

Layne blinked surprised, the black and green glow was gone. "Must have been a trick of light he thought to himself"

Layne was silent for a couple for minutes before he said

"Wouldn't you be better off crying if we find his body? A little thing like falling into some wierdass hole wouldn't kill Joel, Although if he feels anything like I do at the moment he probably wishes it had.

"Idiot" Moll replied with a strained smile "Even if you comfort me I'm not going to feel better"

"Yeah" he grinned "I know you aren't"

"My, my; It appears you have woken up"

Urahara entered the room and stood facing Layne and Moll

"I kept my promise didn't I" he said directing his first question at Moll who only shrugged

"Guess you did"

"But before we continue we should probably exchange introductions; Kisuke Urahara, Manager of this here convenience store"

Layne and Moll sweatdropped "Convenience store?" they thought at exactly the same moment "No way in hell is he exactly who he says he is"

"Layne Trell"

"Moll Rone"

"Good; Now Trell-san, Rone-san if you could follow me I'll explain what happened"

"Ugh" Joel thought to himself "Head feels like I've been drinking Layne's gin and tonic again"

He tried to sit up but realized he couldn't move.

"Joel-san; you are awake?"

"Please do not attempt to move, I have been performing tests and taking samples and I need to finish."

The voice stopped speaking and Joel could hear scratching as a pen made notes on paper for a couple or seconds, and he felt a swab across his skin and then pain as a needle pierced his arm.

He gasped, what the hell was in those needles? It hurt a hell of a lot more than any previous needles had taken.

And then the voice said "I am going to remove the blindfold now and allow you to see."

The first thing Joel noticed when he could see again was that the room he was in was very old fashioned, the second thing that he noticed was that the weight on his chest and the voice that had been speaking to him had been one and the same.

"Whoa" he shouted "What the hell are you doing there?!"

"Taking tests for Mayuri-sama" she replied completely unperturbed by the fact that she was laying on top of him.

"Let's start from the beginning" Joel said, having finally convinced her to get off him, and to sit in a chair next to the bed if she wanted to talk or perform further tests. "Who are you, where am I, Why am I here and where are my friends",

"Kurotsuchi Nemu 12th division Lieutenant, You are currently in the 4th division headquarters in the hospital section in Seireitei, Myself and the members of the Shinigami's woman's association found you when you fell down in the middle of our picnic and we brought you here, and as for your friends I would have no idea.

"We require a new lieutenant and since you are the only lieutenant level reiatsu to come through in a while you have been nominated for the task.

"Don't I get a choice here?"

"I do not believe so" she said flashing him a rare smile, "It is my wish that you go through with this and join me in being a lieutenant

"Shit" Joel thought as he blushed furiously "I am no good with beautiful women"

"Ok I'll do it then, it's not like I have anything else to do here anyway, without my friends." He replied

"As soon as Captain Unohana returns she will give you a final examination and then we may get to training.

Looking around at the huge-ass space under the shop Layne could guess what kind of reaction Urahara was looking for

"Wow who would of expected such a huge-ass space under that tiny shop"

Urahara's eyes literally started tearing up with happiness and Moll just slapped Layne

"Idiot, don't encourage him"

"Putting aside unimportant things Kisuke, why don't you explain to these two what happened?" a new voice said

"Holy Fuck, A talking cat" Moll exclaimed as she identified the source of the voice

The cat seemed to smirk "Not exactly"

It began to glow and suddenly transformed into a very tall and very naked woman

Urahara started shooting blood from his nose, and Layne turned the colour of said blood and very quickly averted his gaze.

"Now you were saying Kisuke?" Yoruichi smirked

"Hold it" Moll interrupted "You should put some clothes on or Layne will be useless for the rest of the day" she indicated Layne who had turned around from Yoruichi and was the exact colour of a ripe tomato. "He's so gentlemanly he objects when I try to grope him to wake him up sometimes"

"How cute" Yoruichi said "Very well"

When Yoruichi was dressed and Urahara cleaned up his nosebleed Urahara finally began to explain while the four of them sat in a circle beside one of the tall cairns.

"That hole you described, it's one of my inventions. It pulled you from your universe into ours. Those rope-things you described are reiryoku pumps. I pumped straight spiritual power into your souls. unfortunately it's currently sealed.

Layne and Moll just sat there in shock not knowing exactly what to say, and Urahara braced himself for an attack that didn't come.

"Aren't you angry with me?" he asked extremely confused

Layne and Moll glanced at each other before Layne spoke for the both of them

"Plenty" Layne replied easily "But we aren't going to act on it until we confirm what happened to our friend, Moll saw him go into the portal earlier; and if he isn't here, he's somewhere else. Plus you said we now have powers, If staying here means we get to learn to use em' then I'm all for it, right Moll?"

"Idiot you don't sound half as cool as you think you do"

"It's ok you don't understand just how cool I think I sound, so half of that is more than you ever will"

Urahara and Yoruichi sweatdropped

"… Well then I supposed I have to explain from the start" Urahara muttered and he launched into a length explanation about Shinigami, Hollows and all that

While he was explaining Yoruichi observed Layne and Moll trying to get a feel for their movements and guess what kind of fighters they would be, judging by the relaxed way Layne sat and his confident air Yoruichi assumed he was either very confident, very lazy or just both.

Moll on the other hand looked like she wore her heart on her sleeve and used her fists instead of her mouth to talk sense into other people. A power fighter Yoruichi decided watching her hit Layne again as he almost drift back off to sleep.

But Layne was a specimen that defied classification, he had definite power, watching him crush a decent sized rock in his fist, and obviously insane endurance due to the fact he was alive after associating with Moll for so long.

But it wasn't until Moll threw a fork at him with all her force until Yoruichi saw what his true strength was.

Speed, the fork had been moving so fast that Moll who had thrown it, had been unable to track it, but Kisuke and Yoruichi had followed its flight path perfectly, Layne wasn't even looking in the direction of the fork and he had moved his hand so fast that Yoruichi in her semi-indolent state had to strain incredibly hard to track it with her eyes.

The fork was back at the table before Moll could blink

"Damn" Yoruichi thought, "How does someone so lazy and indolent have such good speed and aim"

"Well now that Yoruichi seems to be done observing you two; we can actually begin unsealing your powers", Urahara finished.

He turned to Yoruichi "Which one would you like Yoruichi-san?"

"With speed like that?, Layne definitely, plus he's cute to boot"

Moll and Yoruichi laughed as Layne regained his tomato shading faster than he had caught the fork

"Then Rone-san if you could accompany me we shall get started"

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**a/n: Well once again a semidecent chapter upload, stupid chemistry assignment, this chapter probably could of been a lot better if i rewrote it a 3rd time and didn't have my mother stressing about being one percent over the internet quota for the day.**

**but anyway pairings XD**

**so far its a definite NemuxJoel(my oc)**

**Layne and moll will be paired, but not with each other**

**drop me a review with suggestions about pairings you'd like to see  
**

**No Ichiruki, Ichihime or Ichixoc, and Layne isn't getting paired with Rukia or Orihime either ... so damned cliched**

**no yaoi or yuri either please, i'm not trying to offend anyone who is but i'm just not into that sort of thing**

**so yeah maybe i'll get some reads from this chapter and the first one (not that i can see how many i'm getting anyway), and if you don't like it have a problem with my spelling/grammar/storytelling drop a review, i'm pretty cool with just about whatever insult you can throw at me unless its jst an insult for insults sake =P  
**


	3. Chapter 3: Seven Styles

**A/n: Wow might of overdone it a little here =P i just kept typing and only realized i'd done around the 3.3k word mark like 20 min ago, so unfortunately i won't finish off Moll's training scene and get the rest of the bleach guys in till next chapter D=**,

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Layne stood watching Yoruichi by the cairn which Moll and Urahara had just left

"How did you do that before Layne?" she asked

"Do what?" Layne replied confused "Catching the fork? Well I dunno I've always been fast but it was like a voice inside my head warned me that it was coming and my hand just sorta moved on its own, I don't think I could make a repeat feat if you asked"

"That's ok for now Layne, it was a pretty advanced movement; for now let's just start with some basics"

Grinning she pulled on a glove with a flaming skull design

"What's that going to do?"

"You'll see"

Yoruichi flashstepped behind Layne and knocked his spirit out of his body; he came out sputtering and breathing heavily

Yoruichi couldn't help but laugh at the sight of him, but the laughing quickly stopped as she noticed the difference in reiatsu feeling and physical appearance of Layne

Instead of mirroring the appearance of Layne's body which now lay sprawled on the ground unmoving and uninhabited; Layne's spirit form had the beginnings of a hollow mask growing on the corner of his face, it currently was covering around 1/8th of his face and was beginning to restrict his ability to see.

As well as the mask there was a claw instead of his right hand and white hollow armor encased up his wrist except for a dark green symbol that looked like a circle with three lines extending to the center.

Layne just stared at his new attachment and sighed "I knew that stupid spike would continue to cause problems"

"It's ok Layne, Kisuke thought something like this might happen and I know how to fix it"

Layne raised an eyebrow "Well do it then; so we can get started"

Yoruichi smirked "If you insist"

Without warning Yoruichi flashstepped in front of him and shattered the mask fragment with a heavy punch that also sent Layne flying backwards, As he was in midair she flashstepped closer to him and used his claws to sever the Chain of Fate that still shackled him to his body.

Layne landed on the ground and lay there for a few seconds, his breaths coming in ragged gasps as he attempted to stand up

Yoruichi walked over to him and picked him up "I'm sorry for doing this Layne but since your mask was starting to form there's really no other way to do this, You either become a Shinigami and live, or a full hollow and Kisuke and I kill you"

With those words she roundhouse kicked the barely standing Layne straight into unconsciousness.

While Layne was getting his ass handed to him by Yoruichi; Moll was going through a similar thing

She was now stuck at the bottom of a very, very deep hole with that goddamned obnoxious shopkeeper looking down on her explaining exactly why this was going to help her

"The fastest way to unlock hidden Shinigami powers is under threat to ones very soul itself" Urahara was saying

"And how is my soul threatened by being down at the bottom of this hole?"

"Like this"

Urahara muttered a few more words under his breath and a bolt of lightning shot out of his fingers and incinerated most of the Chain of Fate that was linking Moll to her body

Moll had her jaw drop open, unlike Layne she hadn't been listening for most of Urahara's explanation about souls and hollows but even she could grasp that something bad had happened

"You bastard" she growled "That was really important wasn't it?"

"Without the chain of fate the soul will turn into a hollow over a long period of time; at the bottom of the Shattered Shaft the most amount of time it will take is 72 hours; with the amount of chain I incinerated I would estimate that you have perhaps 4 hours to become a Shinigami before you completely turn into a hollow and I am forced to kill you"

"Bastard" Moll spat, feeling betrayed

"If you don't focus all your will into becoming a Shinigami you will turn into a hollow"

"And why in hell should I focus all my will into it, I didn't ask for this, you pulled us here! and Layne was retarded enough to agree to this stupid training and I don't even know why, I just want to get us all home!"

Moll continued her rant oblivious to the fact she was now letting her emotions free to world

"Layne has suffered more than enough shit from you world, I don't understand how that jerk manages to take his next step half the time, Both his parents are dead and his family is fucked up and all he does is laugh, smile and sleep. And what about Joel we can't even find him we don't know if he's dead or alive and he's the best guy to be with"

Urahara smiled behind his fan; she was going to pass the threshold for Shinigami powers very soon

Moll took a deep breath readying for one last final scream "WHY DON'T YOU GO FUCK WITH SOME OTHER PEOPLE!!!!!!!"

"Wow" Moll heard a voice say behind her "You sure know how to wake a guy up from his nap"

Moll whirled around to see a hazy figure standing behind her

"Guess you can't fully materialize me yet; No biggie I'll just take you inside for a chat since you won't shut up and come by yourself"

The hazy figure waved a hand over Moll's face and she collapsed.

Urahara clicked the stopwatch in his hand to a stop and looked at it frowning "She'd better move fast, not that much time before the chain will corrode"

"Man it feels good to be out of that hospital" Joel exclaimed loudly as he chewed on a stick of some energy compound that Captain Unohana had given him as he left "Ever since me and Layne got the shit kicked out of us by those jerks from Forest I've hated hospitals"

"Forgive me Joel-san but I do not understand your reference to Layne and Forest" Nemu said.

She had been following behind him and had been assigned as his personal guide and trainer in Seireitei

"Layne's one of my best friends and I hope to hell he's doing well wherever he is, cause he had a bigass spike through his wrist and was bleeding out when I last saw him, and as for Forest? Forget about them, just some jerks that like to try kicking the shit out of me and Layne"

"Very well Joel-san"

"And don't call me Joel-san, just Joel; making it sound like I'm some person deserving of respect makes me feel uneasy"

Nemu simply nodded easily at him; it wasn't every day that you got told to address someone intimately because they hated the sound of honorifics

"Now what's up with that weird procession over there being lead by the red-head?"

"The red-head you describe would be Lieutenant Renji Abarai, and since he is the one leading I would assume it's the transfer of the prisoner Rukia Kuchiki-sama from the Sixth Division Holding Cells to the Senzaikyuu"

"Seems odd to refer to a prisoner as Sama Nemu?" Joel raised an eyebrow questioningly at Nemu

"She is a member of the noble Kuchiki house and a sister to Captain Byakuya Kuchiki-sama and as such even though she is incarcerated for crimes she should still be referred to as such."

"Whatever"

They continued walking away from the Rukia procession and Joel was looking around in interest at the surrounding alleyways,

"This place is built like a maze, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to find my way around from… Where are we going again Nemu?"

Nemu flashed him a light smile "We are going to the 13th division, to meet your future captain and begin your training"

"Oh, Ok"

"Dammit" Layne rolled over off a rock that had poked him in the back and woke him up "This is a new one Moll sticking things into my back"

"I don't know where in hell you think you are, but it's not there" a voice chuckled

Layne frowned mentally, he felt like he knew the voice but he couldn't identify it, He strained his ears and his memory slowly came back to him, Under Urahara's store rocks on the ground were normal; but Layne could hear, rushing water?

"What the..? Where am I?" Layne said groggily as he sat up

"You of all people should recognize this place idiot"

Layne turned towards the direction of the voice intending to come up with a retort but what he saw left the retort dead on his tongue, in the direction of the voice there was a solitary tree on a rocky plain overlooking a lake, a lake that was emptying and turning into a giant whirlpool.

"Shit" Layne said uneasily and he moved closer to the tree and sat down next to the figure under it

"What's going on here?"

"You gotta actually know where you are before I can explain that"

Layne thought for a few seconds before replying

"I'm in my head aren't I, I was dreaming about this place when I passed out from the spike which caused this" and he held up his hollowfied hand

"Now that you've grasped that I can explain what's happening. You see that water draining? Think of it as a metaphor for you becoming a hollow. All your feelings, memories and experiences are draining away. When that lake empties your soul will shatter and be reformed as a hollow, nothing but a pile of instincts"

"So what can I do to stop it?"

"You can stop being retarded and learn what I am"

"I know what you are, Urahara and Yoruichi explained it to me; you're my zanpakuto spirit… So you can help me out with this?"

"Of course", the spirit waved one of his hands and several boxes appeared "One of these contains your Shinigami powers and you'd better pick the right one" the spirit indicated the lake "Your lake doesn't have much water left in it"

Layne looked at the boxes, there were seven of them, and each one had a different design engraved on the top, Sword, Shield, Fire, Winged Boot, Bow, Axe and the weird symbol that seemed to be tattooed on his hollowfied wrist

"Oh to hell with this" Layne said and he kicked over all the boxes except the one with the Winged Boot, reaching to it he opened it and pulled out a Katana from the box "Lucky" he breathed

"You actually picked the right one"

"There was no wrong one was there?"

"You guessed that so easily?"

"Seven Boxes and Seven styles of fighting, if I had to guess I'd say they were the aspect of my powers I was going to specialize in, Balance, Defense, Kido, Speed, Range, Overwhelming Power and Hollow powers were the choices yeah?

"I should give you more credit; you're a lot smarter than you let on; even to yourself"

"I try not to make myself too noticeable"

The spirit got up and Layne could get a better look at how he appeared. Blond hair set in spikes, wearing just casual clothes like he was any other random at a supermarket he looked unremarkable; but to Layne it felt like he was the most familiar thing in the world.

"You still haven't told me your name"

"It's Roxas"

Roxas picked up two more of the boxes; looked at the markings and tossed them to Layne,

"To be exact there are 3 choices to make here, You make one and focus it and we make two and help you get more powerful"

"We?"

"It's not as important as you seeing which two boxes will be saving your ass every now and then"

Layne looked at the lids; the first one was inscribed with the sword, "Balance" said Layne

The unnerving thing was the marking on the second box "Hollow…" Layne began saying, before Roxas came up close and pushed Layne out of his inner world forcefully before he could finish the question.

"The hell…?" Layne shouted as he sat up where he had fallen after Yoruichi kicked him

"Oh you're awake Layne, and you seemed to have succeeded" said woman pointed out

Layne looked down and sure enough, instead of mirroring his bodies' clothes he was now wearing a black shikahakusho and had a zanpakuto sealed at his right side.

Standing up he realized quickly that he could move easier, everything just seemed to flow from when he bent his knees to when he turned his head; it wasn't until he unsheathed his zanpakuto with his left hand that he realized the condition of his hollowfied right hand.

"Let me see that hand Layne" Yoruichi commanded

When Layne held his hand out to be inspected by Yoruichi he mentally compared it to his other hand, they were the same shape again, shaped like hands rather than a palm with five knives sticking out of it and the marking was different. From the three lines in the circle had changed to four, and there was now a filled in green circle in the centre which the lines all touched.

"Well there's not much we can do for that I'd think, we can make it so it doesn't appear when you're in your body but when you're in Shinigami form that hand will be white. It probably has some advantages to it though"

"How's Moll doing?"

"Not as good as you, she's still in the bottom of that shaft"

"Can we go see her?"

"You're not done here yet"

"I'm not? But I've unlocked the powers now"

"You see that sword"

Layne looked at the katana held in his right hand. It looked like any other katana that he had ever seen, with a silver blade, circular tsuba and grey hilt wrapping.

"What's wrong with it?"

"It's called asauchi, a nameless zanpakuto. It's what unseated Shinigami carry; those that don't know the name of their zanpakuto"

"But I know the name of my zanpakuto"

"Prove it to me then"

Layne brought the katana up to his eye-level and looked at it side on

"Roxas" he thought as hard as he could

"What's up?" the spirit replied, roused from a light nap he was taking in Layne's inner world

"Something about a release?"

"Well you're the one who owns this place, I can tell you about me but you're the only one that should know yourself, who can decide what path to take in life"

"Path in life" Layne murmured to himself

"Right Hand up Block!" Roxas pretty much shouted at him.

Layne obeyed just in time to block a flykick from Yoruichi but she twisted in mid air and swept his legs out from under him.

He hit the ground; Hard.

"What the hell are you doing?" he sputtered as he rolled over and picked himself up

"You're going to have to do better than that to defend yourself against me Layne" Yoruichi grinned as she moved in for another hit

Layne dived out of the way and threw his zanpakuto to the side, yelling the first thing that came to his head

"Drift! Roxas!"

The katana vanished in a flash of white light and Layne mentally cursed his shitty luck

"Your Shikai vanishes does it Layne? Well at least I don't have to worry about being cut up here"

As she aimed a roundhouse kick at Layne's face all he could think was

"Shit, useless thing"

But the world seemed to freeze for Layne and he heard footsteps coming behind him

"God dam, your pathetic Layne, you call me out and can only sit there as that woman is about to kick your brain out of your head"

"You vanished" Layne said coldly "What the hell am I supposed to do with a vanishing zanpakuto"

Roxas facepalmed "Sorry my fault for not explaining earlier"

Layne just cocked an eyebrow as Roxas made a motion as if gripping a hilt and a pure white thing, appeared in his hand in a blinding flash of light

"This is Oathkeeper; A keyblade that embodies my powers"

Now that Layne could actually see the blade he had to admit it looked like a key. It was almost purely white except for the blue "teeth" bit with yellow tips on their edge. And it had a yellow star on a chain hanging off the hilt.

"How do I summon it?"

"Same way I did, just extend your hand and grip, you'll feel it when you try it. Now get to it"

Without warning Roxas faded away and Layne barely had enough time to roll out of the way as Yoruichi's delayed kick came down

"Are you going to get serious Layne or just dodge all my attacks?"

"I think I've almost got it"

Yoruichi smirked, "Well you'd better hurry up, cause you're not going to be able to dodge anymore

Layne raised an eyebrow at that but soon lowered it as she flashstepped behind him and sent him rolling forwards.

"I told you"

"Dammit" Layne growled after spitting out a fair amount of dirt; attempting to sit up, he grunted as a foot was planted on his chest

"I wasn't kidding Layne"

"What are you doing you idiot" Roxas snarled inside his head "Use Oathkeeper"

Yoruichi brought her foot up, intending to bring it down a crack a couple of ribs, but on the downswing her kick was stopped by a weapon of some sorts.

Layne was grinning with far more levity than any other man in his situation should be.

"Roxas was right" Layne breathed as he pushed Yoruichi off him with the flat of Oathkeeper "It does improve my speed and power"

"Bout time you pulled that out, I really was going to crack a rib or two that time"

Yoruichi reached down and pulled Layne up

"So can we go see how Moll's doing now?"

"In a sec, now that we've released it you should learn how to seal your zanpakuto"

"Seal?"

"Talk to Roxas, he should know what to do"

"Roxas dude"

"Are you so stupid you can't leave me alone for like 5 seconds?"

"Sealing?"

"Just lower your reiatsu levels and focus Oathkeeper into Katana form, since it's your first release you can pick what the sealed form will look like too"

Layne did as Roxas said and pretty soon he was holding a brand new sealed Oathkeeper. The sealed form had undergone some cosmetic changes, namely the blade was now pure white, the handle wrapping was yellow, the scabbard was blue and the tsuba was now the same shape as the star that hung off the chain.

Layne sheathed it and stuck it at his side, "Let's go see Moll"

* * *

**A/n Well if your wondering if Roxas seems a little OOC, his character style isn't actually based on the KH Roxas, just name and appearance, and once again I don't own either Bleach/Kingdom Hearts or any of the themes from within, R&R plzzz, it might actually be the only 10k word fanfic that doesn't have a single review O.o**


	4. Chapter 4: Spirit Split

**a/n Sorry for those people that added me to author alert only to get another chapter for this story, I'm not going to make another chapter for my other story "Wouldn't Expect it" it was a one-shot**

**more importantly finally got around to following proper bleach storyline /cheer  
**

* * *

At the Shattered Shaft, Urahara was getting a little worried about Moll's progress, 3 and a half hours of her allotted four had already ticked away. Apart from the early progress he had seen there had been no movements from her since then

He heard footsteps slowly making their way towards him, and turned his head to catch Yoruichi and Layne returning from the other side of the cave.

Layne was in the black shikahakusho that characterised a Shinigami so Urahara hid a slight smiled behind his fan as they got close and sat down next to him, observing Moll at the bottom of the Shattered Shaft

"How's she doing" Layne asked lightly

"Not very well, I'm afraid" Urahara replied

"To be honest I was afraid of this" he continued, looking back down the shaft

"Of what?" Layne asked quizzically

"One of you failing" Urahara said grimly "It's those that lack resolve, not power, that will fail at this training"

"Well if anything Moll has at least five times my resolve, She's been getting my lazy ass out of bed for school in the morning for a couple of years now. If that's not a measure of extreme resolve then I don't know what is" Layne started grinning inanely as he finished the statement

"She won't lose to me simply because it's me, the fact that her soul is on the line should just make this easy for her"

Inside Moll's inner world, she was having a little trouble getting things sorted, It wasn't for lack of trying mind you, just that its nigh impossible to retrieve boxes that are flying around in a whirling tornado.

Not that she had any help from Sora, who introduced himself after he pulled her into her inner world and then gone and taken a nap after telling Moll about the boxes.

"That bastard" she muttered to herself "Isn't he meant to be based off my soul?"

She took another look at him lying there on the ground, seemingly unaffected by the heavy winds around him

"It looks like I got stuck with Layne's zanpakuto rather than my own, the way he's sleeping that deeply in the middle of a goddam tornado"

As soon as she muttered the words however, Sora leapt up just in time to get Moll off the ground as a fissure opened up on the spot she had been standing a second ago.

"Good" he breathed, "It's almost time"

"What is it time for?" Moll asked, calming down slightly from the massive adrenaline rush she'd had when Sora had literally tackled her out of the fissure

"Ok now listen closely cause I don't have much time to explain this"

"Just hurry up then" Moll said hurriedly noticing more fissures opening up around them.

"Ok, extend your senses, you should be able to feel a large body of water nearby"

Moll cast about, closing her eyes and trying to stay calm, there was a large body of water nearby, and it felt incredibly choppy, like someone was continually dropping boulders in the centre of a lake.

"I got the water" she shouted, for the ambient noise level in the center of the tornado had increased about 20 decibels while Moll was searching for the water

"Ok, in about five seconds when the noise level drops down, imagine the water rising up and carrying us"

Mentally sighing at the weird command Moll waited a couple of seconds then focused all her will into an image of a lake draining, and a tube filling with water.

Layne suddenly choked in surprise, and Yoruichi and Urahara were at his side as he started gasping for air.

"It's like his reiatsu is just disappearing Kisuke" Yoruichi said alarmed

"No it's not, it's being transferred" Urahara replied gravely as he indicated the two figures rising out of the Shattered shaft.

The figures touched down next to the shaft and Layne stopped having breathing difficulties, and his reiatsu started returning as one of strange figures slumped forwards and lost consciousness.

The other one who was still standing lifted her head up and gave a wicked grin

"Who knew splitting from my shell would be that easy?

The figure that had spoken looked like Moll in every way but the way it spoke, it felt to Layne that if Moll was a vindictive bitch who only cared about herself, she wouldn't sound a quarter as evil as that thing did.

"I need to thank you Kisuke Urahara" the Moll spirit hissed "You did quite nicely getting me out of there"

By now Layne and Urahara had unsheathed their swords and were pointing them at the figure

"What exactly is that Urahara" Layne growled

"If I had to guess I'd say it was a hollow"

"That's right" The Moll Hollow said maliciously as it started leaking reiatsu in an attempt to intimidate Layne, Urahara and Yoruichi

Urahara shot a glance at Layne, who shouldn't have actually been able to stand under the current level of reiatsu filling the room but he was still upright and in a relaxed combat position

Urahara sighed, this could get quite messy, "Trell-san"

Layne grunted his recognition

"Unless you want to get killed here I suggest you release your zanpakuto when I do"

Layne grinned and Urahara could have sworn the symbol on his hollowfied wrist flashed

"Don't worry Urahara-san, This bitch is going to pay for whatever she did to Moll"

Layne tossed his zanpakuto aside and called "Drift, Roxas!

Oathkeeper appeared in his hand and his look changed from one of patient good humour, to a look of fiery determination

"Let's get this done Urahara-san" he said as he pointed Oathkeeper at the hollow

Urahara had a slight smile playing across his face as Layne calmly stood there, keyblade pointed and reiatsu blazing

"Of course Trell-san; Sing, Benihime!"

Urahara's little sword transformed into a larger, straight scimitar like sword that got bigger as it extended outwards and the hilt extended and curved inwards at the last couple of inches.

"Here I come!" Layne shouted as he charged the hollow

"Come boy! You won't stop me from my freedom" The hollow replied scathingly as it dodged Layne's first swing, jumped backwards and pulled out a katana from nowhere.

It flipped backwards until its feet came in contact with one of the rock cairns that dotted the underground training room and bounced off so it could gain some speed to counter Layne's incoming charge

"You're far too young to take on something the likes of me boy!" the hollow shouted with glee

"Don't underestimate me" Layne replied coolly, "_Araumi Sutoraiku" _

Just before Layne passed the hollow he twisted his body around and swung Oathkeeper in a wide arc that completely missed the Hollow

The Hollow laughed maniacally

"You can't even hit me with your pitiful power" it gloated.

Layne merely stopped in mid-air, solidifying the reishi underneath his feet and muttered "_Ame_"

A solid blast of reiatsu moved up from the area where Layne had swung his sword before and collided with the hollow and continued on, carrying the hollow up and out through a hole that the reiatsu crescent created in the roof.

Layne lifted Oathkeeper up and rested it on his shoulder and called down to Urahara "Sorry Urahara-san, that was my first time using that attack, I might have overdone it a little"

Urahara just smiled that mysterious little smile and turned around to treat Moll when he suddenly felt a hollow presence appear from where Layne shot the Moll-hollow.

Urahara flashstepped straight there and Yoruichi being faster, flashstepped to Layne, grabbed him and then flashstepped there.

The three of them watched a golden beam rip a hole in the sky and surround the fallen Moll-hollow

"Negacion" Urahara muttered as he turned around to head back into the shop, He raised his voice so Layne could hear "Once that golden beam is around the hollow it's over, we can't break it and they can't break out of it"

Layne who was currently over Yoruichi's shoulder just watched the beam as it carried the Moll-Hollow up into the sky "I'll get it next time then" he said dejectedly as Yoruichi turned to take him back inside.

Back inside, Urahara ordered Tessai, Jinta and Ururu to fix up the mess that Layne had made while he looked at Moll's condition.

Layne had expended a considerable amount of reiatsu so Yoruichi made him eat something then forced him into bed despite his protests of not going until he'd seen Moll was alright.

"Teenagers" Yoruichi muttered as she walked over to Urahara who was at Moll's bedside

"How is she Kisuke?"

"She'll be fine, and she succeeded in the Shattered Shaft too" Urahara replied, pointing at the zanpakuto lying beside her bed.

Urahara got up and motioned for Yoruichi to follow him "I think I can explain what happened earlier too"

They made their way to the table next to the ladder and sat down

"So what happened?" Yoruichi questioned

"The Shattered Shaft is supposed to bring spirits to the brink of becoming a hollow so they can unlock their own Shinigami powers, but Rone-san wasn't able to unlock her Shinigami powers on her own"

"So how did she succeed then?"

"Reiatsu leeching; she sucked a considerable amount of Trell-san's reiatsu to fuel her transformation"

"But that's…"

"You felt it didn't you?, Trell-san's reiatsu all but disappeared and he nearly lost the ability to breathe until Rone-san fainted. I was extremely surprised that he had enough reiatsu left to stand, let alone release and use that Araumi Sutoraiku_, _move. It seems that Trell-san's complete reiatsu capacity increased when it was nearly drained, I would say he has the capability to match Kurosaki-san's fighting capability in the future"

"But this is dangerous; if she can leech her allies reiatsu in the middle of a fight then they could die"

Urahara held up a hand to silence Yoruichi

"It's a conscious ability, and the reiatsu leeched to turn a normal soul into a Shinigami is much greater than any reiatsu she could leech in the middle of combat, even if she was on the verge of death. Plus it seems that the ability is limited to Trell-san only and it won't work over long distances"

"But why was the hollow created?

"You remember our friends? The Vizards? Well Trell-san is also a Vizard with an inner hollow that hasn't surfaced yet, luckily and it's only a theory, but I believe that when Rone-san leeched Trell-san's reiatsu that it forced the Inner hollow inside her to split from her zanpakuto spirit and escape her body due to the dormant inner hollow inside Trell-san"

"So she won't end up Vizard?"

"Neither will Kurosaki-san if we are lucky, but he didn't leech reiatsu from Trell-san and didn't eject the hollow"

Yoruichi was silent for a few seconds as she absorbed the implications of that statement

"So what do we do now?" she asked lightly

"We train these two, and we send them into Soul Society to help rescue Kuchiki-san, Aizen has more on his side than just the Gotei 13 at this point in time"

"Are you going to tell Ichigo and Layne?"

"About what?, Impending hollowfication?, Aizen? No it's much better if they only think they are going to rescue Kuchiki-san."

They sat in more silence until Yoruichi got up and stalked off to bed and Urahara just stared at the table

"So when are they getting here?" Layne asked Moll and Yoruichi as they relaxed next to Urahara's senkai gate a few days after unlocking their Shinigami powers, they had been training hard and today was finally the day that they went to Soul Society

Privately Layne felt that going to Soul Society was his best chance of finding out what happened to Joel and if he could have some more people helping him along the way then all the better

Moll just wanted everyone to get home safely and so she was going along to make sure Layne didn't die because he was too lazy to use his all

Yoruichi was in cat form as it would be easier to remain unnoticed in Soul Society

"Here they come" she said "I'll go over to greet them, you two just stay here"

Yoruichi pounced onto Layne's head and used it as a springboard for a flashstep over to where Urahara was leading four people down that gigantic ladder from his store.

They talked for a bit around the ladder and then made their way to where Layne and Moll were currently sitting.

Ichigo was immediately on guard at the sight of two strange people sitting on the ground

"Who the hell are these people Hat n clogs" he questioned pointing at Layne who had stood up and stuck his hands in his pockets

"Allies" Urahara replied calmly, pushing Layne and Moll out of their bodies and into Shinigami form "They will aid you in Soul Society to rescue Kuchiki-san"

Ichigo, Chad and Uryuu were immediately on guard

"What the hell is this" Ichigo snarled

Layne looked at Ichigo and came a decision, He unsheathed his zanpakuto and tossed it to Ichigo

"If you're that determined to go without our help then cut me down here; because if I'm not dead then we'll be coming with you" he said calmly as he spread his arms out leaving himself open for a slash

"IDIOTS!" Moll screeched as she punched both Ichigo and Layne into a nearby cairn.

Uryuu and Chad sweatdropped and Inoue cried out "Kurosaki-kun!" in worry

"Layne you retard, you only said that in one of your fail attempts to look cool" Moll continued accusingly

"So what if I did" Layne replied, picking himself up from the rubble and turning around to help Ichigo up

"And you" Moll said turning her attention to Ichigo "You should be grateful that two powerful people like us are coming to help you rescue this Kuchiki person"

"Your friend is scary" Ichigo whispered to Layne as he got picked up

"This is nothing, just wait until we find our friend Joel, he's going to get it for making her cry like she has been doing" Layne replied grimly

Ichigo handed Layne back Roxas and got pushed out of his body by Urahara.

"Now that the pleasantries have been exchanged let's get down to business" Urahara began

He tapped the Senkai gate with his cane "This is a special Senkai gate, I made it by overlaying it with a layer of Reishihenkanki"

"Reishihenkanki?" asked Uryuu

"The only people who could normally move around as souls would be Trell-san, Kurosaki-san and Rone-san for they are Shinigami. For the others if we separated you from your physical forms, you'd have to contend with the Chain of Fate. The Reishihenkanki converts your physical forms, into soul forms so you can just travel through the gate without having to exit your bodies" Urahara replied

"Ok then" Ichigo said "Let's do it"

He made a move for the door but was brought crashing to the floor as Moll tripped him

"Idiot, there's more to this" she said calmly

"That's correct Rone-san" Urahara said in a jovial tone "The Problem we have here is Time" and his tone became serious

"You only have Four minutes from which to travel through this gate into Soul Society, or you will get trapped forever in the Dangai. In addition to that the Dangai is filled with Kouryuu which can stop a spirit from moving"

"Then…what should we do?" asked Orihime

"Just walk forward" Yoruichi replied "The heart and soul are connected, and only those that can follow their hearts and move forward may follow me"

"What are you talking about" Ichigo growled "We four who have chosen to gather here have made the decision and will stand by it"

"You should know then, if you lose you will never return"

"Then all we have to do is win" Layne said with an easy grin

"Hmph, well said"

"If your all ready, once I open the gate we you should all dash in" Urahara cut in

"Let's do it" said Ichigo

* * *

**a/n, and there we have it chapter 4 is done =D, and i rekon about time time that Ichigo and the others got in on the scene, (even though i'm writing the story)**

**Quick translation: "Araumi Sutoraiku" - Riptide Strike,**

**"Ame" - Rain**

**Layne's attacks have water sounding names, Moll's will have air sounding names and Joel's will have earth sounding names**

**Riptide Strike will be a skillset, so Rain is just one of the moves**

**If your having trouble imagining it think of it as a Getsuga Tenshou that fires after the swing has been made**

**Next chapter will be in Soul Society and i'll be following the manga a bit closer**

**oh and thanks for my first ever review from Wulf for Life!**

**P.S: Anyone see last chapter of bleach manga?, Tousen's resureccion scared the crap out of me  
**


	5. Chapter 5: Shinso, Tag and WTF is Kido?

**Alright! Chapter 5, X-mas Eve, but Fan-fiction stops for Nothing!!! except for those few minutes i nearly wiped the raid in Icecrown cause i was bouncing around as rocketbear =P**

* * *

"Yade yare" said Layne, as he picked himself up off the floor after a forced ejection from the Dangai tunnel "Isn't there an easier way to do that?"

"Ohh Kurosaki-kun's landing pose is so artistic" exclaimed Inoue, who's Santen Kesshun had blocked the Kouryuu janitor and tossed them all out.

Ichigo who was currently lying on his back with his legs flipped backwards over his head

"Interesting pose Kurosaki" sniggered Ishida

"You talk too much" Ichigo snapped back as he flipped himself upright and looked around

"Looks like no one is hurt" remarked Moll "That's a good thing at least"

"What's so good about that?" Yoruichi yelled as she attempted to headbutt Orihime, but Layne, using his experience of Yoruichi catching and his speed merely caught Yoruichi before her head could connect with Orihime's "If the Janitor had touched the body of the Rikka you would have died!"

"Relax Yoruichi-san, it turned out ok" Layne muttered putting Yoruichi on the ground

"The smoke is clearing" Chad said softly

With the smoke clearing everyone took a look around at the area they were in; it looked like an old village with ramshackle huts

"This is Soul Society?" Ichigo questioned

"Yes" Yoruichi replied calmly "This is Rukongai, the outskirts where the majority of souls live, we need to move into the Seireitei, where the Shinigami live"

"Let's go then" Ichigo said impatiently "We need to get this done as fast as possible"

"Before we move on; we didn't properly do introductions" Yoruichi declared

"Introductions?" Ishida asked quizzically

"It's important for you to know the names of your allies, and the people that could potentially save your life in a combat situation"

"That makes sense" Chad agreed

"Well you all know who I am so I'll start with these two, Layne Trell, and Moll Rone, Shinigami whose powers were unlocked in a method similar to yours Ichigo,"

Layne and Moll gave a short wave as Yoruichi continued introductions

"Layne, Moll, This is Ichigo Kurosaki, Uryuu Ishida, Yasutora Sado, and Orihime Inoue. Their goal here is to rescue Rukia Kuchiki"

"Now that that's over with" Ichigo cut in, "It looks like we can just run straight in"

Ichigo started running at full speed in the direction of the Seireitei

"YOU IDIOT!!!" Yoruichi screeched "You'll die if you get to close!"

"Eh?" Ichigo stopped and turned around just in time to avoid a gigantic piece of wall that came down with a great crash from crushing him

"It's been so long since anyone has tried to break into the Seireitei" A new voice sounded with glee and put everyone immediately on guard "This will be a refreshing change"

"Jidanbou" breathed Yoruichi

Meanwhile Joel **(a/n Remember him?) **in the Seireitei had been doing quite well for himself, even though he hadn't found any trace of Moll or Layne. In the same time it had taken Moll and Layne to unlock their Shinigami powers and train, he had reached the fighting proficiency of a Gotei 13 lieutenant and immediately been assigned as the lieutenant for the 13th squad to replace Captain Ukitake's two argumentative 3rd seats, needless to say neither of them had said a peep since the day Joel took over.

From his initial training session he had made two good friends among his fellow lieutenants, firstly Nemu Kurotsuchi, who had initially aided him and even disobeyed Captain Kurotsuchi a few times just to see him, and Renji Abarai who was currently walking down the hall with him.

"There was a lot of improvement in that last spar we had" Renji was saying "Unlocking Shikai like that is good, and it seemed that the fighting style is similar to the way you use a sealed zanpakuto, so there should be no problem you using your Shikai straight away in proper combat situations"

"Excellent" replied Joel, whose mind was still far off thinking of how Moll and Layne were doing

Just then an announcement came over the Seireitei

"Intruder Alert! Squads 3, 6, 9 and 13 to the West Gate to repel intruders; all other squads to regular battle positions"

Joel raised an eyebrow at that "Four squads to one gate? They must be some freakin powerful intruders"

But he didn't notice that Renji's look had hardened and he had already flashstepped away

"That bastard" Joel cursed under his breath "He knows I'm not as fucking fast as he is"

When they arrived at the site they were surprised to see that only the 3rd and 9th squads were there

"Kira what happened to our squads?" Joel questioned the 3rd squad Lieutenant

"They were ordered out" Kira replied

"By who?" Renji asked angrily

"By me" a new voice interrupted

Both Joel and Renji turned to look at the person who gave the orders and immediately shrank a little bit

"Please forgive our presumptions Captain Ichimaru" Renji quickly bowed respectfully and grabbed Joel, who looked like he was about to spit the dummy and flashstepped them both into an alley where they could watch what was happening

"What the hell was that all about Renji?" Joel growled

"Calm down, I know you hate Captain Ichimaru, but getting angry over something like this is pointless" Renji replied in a low voice,

They waited a few seconds before Joel broke the silence

"Why are we here anyway?" Joel said as he calmed down

"To get a look at these intruders" Renji replied curtly\

"But Jidanbo's outside, shouldn't he repel the intruders?"

"If the intruders are who I think they are then I believe they will have no problems at all getting through Jidanbo"

Joel had never seen Renji speak so fatalistically, it didn't really suit him at all and he said as much

"Don't say useless stuff like that, and shut up and watch, looks like something is happening"

Ichimaru had sent away the 9th squad and most of the 3rd squad as well, and only he and his lieutenant Kira, were watching the gates as they began to open.

"He's pulling out his zanpakuto, Renji, he must be serious"

Joel and Renji moved forward closer to get a better view and they watched a bad scene unfold

"The gatekeeper does not open the gate, rather if the gatekeeper fails he must die" murmured Ichimaru softly as he brought his zanpakuto down for a killing blow but it was suddenly blocked by Ichigo.

"What the hell is your problem" Ichigo shouted as he moved Zangetsu up and down in a chopping motion to get rid of the aftershock of the powerfully hit he had just blocked

"If you wanna fight someone, fight me" he continued calmly, settling Zangetsu into a combat ready position.

Chad, Orihime, Uryuu, Ishida and Yoruichi observed as Ichimaru started walking away from Ichigo. Layne however, caught a momentary flash of immediate killing intent and jumped behind Ichigo just in time to unsheathe his zanpakuto and block a deathblow from Kira.

"Damn Ichigo, how could you miss the killing intent embedded in that reiatsu", Layne grinned as he pushed Kira back"

"Shut the hell up" Ichigo snapped back

"Have it your way"

"Ya know, Izuru, ya might wanna move out of the way" Ichimaru cut in

"Yes Captain", Kira replied and flashstepped beside Ichimaru

Layne turned around and stood beside Ichigo facing Ichimaru and Kira,

"What you gonna do with that small knife?" Ichigo mocked "Throw it?"

"This isn't a knife" and here Ichimaru sounded hurt but then turned completely serious "This is my zanpakuto. Shoot to kill, Shinsou!"

Shinsou split the blade into two and both blades extended and aimed directly for Ichigo and Layne

Ichigo blocked the oncoming point with the flat side of Zangetsu but Layne didn't have enough time to release Roxas and so just attempted to catch the blade with his hollowfied hand. It worked rather well, the hand had something similar to a hollow's natural armor and so only got a little scratched as Shinsou nicked it.

The force of the push however, sent both Layne and Ichigo flying backwards into Jidanbo, holding up the gate and the three of them rolled out and lay unmoving on the floor outside the gate

"Bye, Bye" Ichimaru said in a fake glee-filled tone as the gate closed behind Layne and Ichigo's abrupt exit

Kira and Ichimaru flashstepped off, and Joel let out the breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding.

"Shit"

"For Captain Ichimaru to release to take on a couple of intruders" Renji agreed

Joel raised an eyebrow at his friend

"Not that, I didn't recognize the orange head, but that guy who blocked Kira's strike was my friend Layne" and here he slumped to the floor and looked at it in defeat "That idiot, He's going to get himself killed here, and I may have to play a part in it"

Renji said nothing as Joel sat and wallowed in despair, There wasn't much too say, Joel had summed it up nicely.

Joel had taken the oath to follow the Gotei 13's orders to the letter, and Renji knew even from their short friendship that Joel would obey an order to run Layne through on the spot, but he'd be an emotional wreck afterwards.

Then it clicked in Renji's head, "C'mon, Joel, I know who you need to go see" he said, broadly grinning as he shoved his worries about Ichigo into the back of his mind to make space for concern for his friend Joel.

"IT HURTS!" screeched Ichigo as he picked himself up off the ground and sheathed Zangetsu

"That was one hell of a hit" Layne shot back as he sat up and inspected his hollowfied hand which was beginning to bleed profusely, He held it up so everyone else could see, "Such small scratches and such a large amount of blood" he said with clinical detachment

"Ohh Trell-kun let me heal your hand" Orihime, exclaimed with worry

"It's Layne, ok, and before you heal me we should get this guys arm reattached" he said indicating Jidanbo.

Moll, Uryuu and Yoruichi just watched as between the three of them, Layne, Ichigo and Chad got the arm back in place and Orihime began to heal it.

Layne, Ichigo and Chad walked back to join Yoruichi, Moll and Uryuu and Moll couldn't help notice the strange looks Layne was giving his hand, the hand that was no longer bleeding

"Wasn't that bleeding like a torn fire hydrant just a second ago?" she whispered to him,

"Aye, it's in near perfect condition now, it's like it regenerated" Layne whispered back about to continue but interrupted by a cat's claw to the back of his head

"Now, that everyone is listening Ichigo, why don't you say that again" Yoruichi said in what could only be taken as a pleased tone

"I'm sorry, Yoruichi-san, for losing us the entrance way" Ichigo replied through gritted teeth

"Well, since it was a Captain that was waiting for us, we would have lost the entryway anyway so it's no big deal, it's a victory that we all got out alive"

Veins popped in Ichigo's head and steam came from his ears "Then why did you make me apologize, three times"

"To embarrass you"

"Bastard"

"But putting aside unimportant things"

"Like Ichigo's ego", Moll and Uryuu thought in unison

"We do need to find an alternate way in, and fortunately, I know a person who can help us, but we should start moving as soon as Orihime is finished to get there before dark."

"By all means, Yoruichi-san, lead the way then" Uryuu said courteously

"How freakin long have we been walking!!!"

Surprisingly the first person to crack wasn't Ichigo, but Moll

"Is it supposed to take this long to get a place that's close?" she continued irritably

The group had been walking for hours now and everyone except Layne and Yoruichi was experiencing the effects of extreme boredom

Layne's speed was now at a level that Yoruichi had to revert to human form to be able to outpace him.

They were currently engaged in a game of tag and moving so fast that only they could even see each other, but every now and then Layne would stop and relay directions to the group.

But by now, Moll was absolutely bored out of her mind, and seething with anger because Layne was currently moving too fast for her to take out her boredom on him.

Only Ichigo was stupid enough to reply

"Must be tough, not being able to see your boyfriend cause he's moving too fast for you" he drawled lazily

That was it. Moll snapped

For the next few minutes all you could hear from the group was Ichigo screaming in pain and Moll shouting "He's not my fucking boyfriend!"

Renji carried an unconscious Joel through the halls of the 12 squad Headquarters

After seeing Layne shot out of the gates by Shinsou, Joel had gotten depressed over the thought that he would end up fighting against his friend eventually and wasn't even talking to Renji

Although when they had stopped outside the 12th division gates he had snapped out of it in the fear of being left there for Captain Kurotsuchi to experiment on and had attempted to run for his life but Renji had knocked him unconscious and hefted him over his shoulder with some difficulty and entered

"It's for your own good Joel" Renji muttered as he attempted to dodge most of the members of 12th

He had just dodged Akon when he saw the person he had been looking for.

Nemu didn't realize she had moved until Renji had dropped them both off in her quarters and shouted

"I'll be back for him in a few hours!"

She looked around the room slightly confused until she caught sight of Joel waking up on her bed

"That bastard" he groaned groggily "Where in hell has he left me?"

He sat up, stretched his neck, and caught sight of Nemu

"Oh Nemu, where am I?"

"We are currently in my private quarters, as dropped off by Lieutenant Abarai; I do not have any explanation to why we are here though." She replied unemotionally

"Perfect, now I'll have to make it out of here while avoiding Captain Kurotsuchi" Joel sighed

He moved over to the door and attempted to open it, only to find it locked

"Uhh Nemu, the door is locked; is there a way to open it from this side?"

"No, Mayuri-sama installed the lock himself, I am not allowed to leave the headquarters in my free time so he locks me in here to prevent my rebellious personality from forcing me out"

"…You've never tried to get out once have you?"

"Not once" she confirmed

"So I'm stuck here until he comes back" Joel sighed with resignation as he moved back to the bed, took off his zanpakuto and sat down on the bed, leaning his back against the wall it was pressed up against

As he leaned his head up against the wall as well, Nemu was inwardly surprised to see the tears glistening as they slowly rolled down his face; outwardly her only change in expression was a fractional lowering of the eyebrows in what would have been considered to be a frown in other people

"Joel? What is causing your tears?" she asked lightly as she moved over to sit next to him, unaware of the delicate situation she was stepping into

Joel was too far gone in sadness to pay any attention to the fact that it wasn't Renji he was talking too

"I always talk about Layne, don't I? How great he is, how lucky I am that he's my friend"

"I have heard many of your speeches on the topic of Layne" she admitted

"Today Renji and I saw him, One of the intruders at the West gate, Layne. In one of our shihakusho's, with a zanpakuto, and he got blasted out by Ichimaru's Shinsou"

Nemu understood suddenly, or at least she thought she did

"Then you are crying because of your friend's death?

Joel looked up angrily at that

"Hell No! Layne wouldn't die from a shot that weak, Nah" he said settling down and leaning his head on Nemu's shoulder

"I'm crying cause I'm duty-bound to be the one to kill him myself"

No further words were needed; as Nemu absorbed the impact of that statement she realized why Renji had dropped him off here.

The two them had become fast friends due to Joel, A very weird occurrence seeing as Nemu was introverted and shy due to her upbringing and current position, and Renji was loud and overbearing at times,

They didn't realize a similar thing had happened with Layne and Moll, even though Joel described them both over a thousand times and had said more often than not that Nemu reminded him of Layne and Renji reminded him of Moll

And as such, only Renji knew that Nemu had romantic interests in Joel, even her fellow friends in the Shinigami Woman's Association hadn't a clue about it

And it pained Nemu to see Joel like this, and so she did the only sane thing she could think of, she held him tight and lay down on the bed with him until he slept, and they didn't move, even when Renji came to get Joel out before Captain Kurotsuchi saw him.

Layne, a bruised and battered Ichigo, Uryuu, Orihime, Chad and a seething Moll sat around a table in the Shiba household

Layne and Yoruichi had felt the reiatsu bursts during their game of tag and had gone to investigate and found Moll kicking the living shit out of Ichigo.

Layne immediately knew she was bored and Ichigo had done something or other to piss her off and so immediately broke it up and restrained Moll and tossed her to Chad to carry the rest of the way

"Jeez, with allies like you two, I'm beginning to think I might die before I get inside Seireitei again" Ichigo muttered sarcastically

"That's a distinct possibility Ichigo" Yoruichi said calmly as she returned to the table with Kuukaku Shiba

"Our method of entry is dangerous and can only be achieved by the Firework Launcher owned by Kuukaku here"

Kuukaku tossed each of them a small orb

"Listen up brats, those orbs need reiatsu to function, so you need to pour your reiatsu into them and they'll create a shield that will shoot through the shield over Seireitei"

"Pour reiatsu?" Ichigo wanted to know

"Like for Kido"

"Kido?"

Kuukaku, Layne and Moll turned and stared at Ichigo with various expressions, Shock, tired amusement, and downright sadistic glee in that order

"This is going to be interesting" Layne thought to himself wearily

* * *

**a/n: and thats it for chapter 5, was a bit harder to produce than that other 4, but i got it out eventually!**

**Going to crash now, soo tired catchyas all later**

**And check out Wulf 4 Life!, excellent writer who will be including Layne (a Layne at a much greater powerlevel than the one so far), in one of his stories soon**

**Ps, I'm actually reasonably sure that this might be the only ~16k word fiction with less than 10 reviews, HELP ME OUT plz!**

**and yes, Moll is subject to Moll rages, i sure as hell do not want to be around when she rages again XD  
**


	6. Chapter 6: Impedance

**a/n - Alright Early Boxing Day update!!!, hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas yesterday, i know i did (so much star trek to watch!) **

**Once again, i don't own Bleach, or Kingdom Hearts, how ever i do own Layne, Moll and Joel  
**

* * *

"So your serious, you can't do Kido?" Kuukaku asked incredulously

Yoruichi sighed, "Kisuke never got around to it, like he did with Moll here"

"Ahh well, we can always learn" she said good naturedly as she got up

"C'mon brats"

Kuukaku led the group to the base of her gigantic firework launcher and told them to start their practice

15 minutes later she made everyone line up with their orbs held out

As she moved down the line she made small comments about each orb

"Nice shape…, Perfect… Not very stable but full of power… You did that with one finger?... Good"

She stopped when she got to Ichigo and looked at his pitiful strip of orb, shook her head and got everyone to follow her out for food leaving Ichigo to practice his orb skills

About 10 minutes later Moll came back to the room to find Ichigo still concentrating on the orb

He looked up when he saw her enter and immediately freaked out thinking she came back to kick the shit out of him yet again

She laughed at his actions "Don't worry Ichigo, I only came to pick this up" and she held up a scroll with some complicated incantation

"…"

"Are you really having that much trouble with it?" she asked

"…"

"But it's sooo easy" she continued tauntingly

By now a vein was pulsing dangerously on Ichigo's temple, Moll or not Mol, there was no way in hell Ichigo was going to take this for much longer

"Here, pass me the orb, I'll show you how to do it"

Ichigo tossed her the orb and she immediately formed the protective bubble

Ichigo stared intently at the bubble for a few seconds before giving up the impression that he was learning something

"I didn't learn a thing from that" he complained irritably

"I know" she replied mischievously "The point was to see if you'd try"

"You bitch" he growled "Did you really come here to help me?"

"Like I said, no; but I'll help you anyway cause I can tell you want to rescue this Rukia person pretty badly, you wanna tell me why? Money? Sex?"

"None of those" Ichigo replied gaining a far off look

"Then why?"

"I owe her; she gave me her Shinigami powers so I could save my family and because of that they came for her and she's going to be executed. I'm not a punk who'll sit and do shit all when someone is going to get hurt for my sake"

Moll's eyes widened fractionally and anyone who knew her well would day she had gone into shock.

Indecisiveness played across her face and then her resolve tightened.

"Listen up Ichigo, the key to reiatsu manipulation is Imagery. Even that idiot Layne can do Kido because of his insane focus on imagery" She pointed a finger at a target in the distance

"Hado no. 6, Hellflame Inferno" and a thin jet of flame shot out of the finger and incinerated the target

"So what exactly do I do then?" Ichigo asked quizzically as he attempted to snatch the Orb back

Moll moved it out of his reach and replied

"Focus on an image that can be paralled to reiatsu manipulation; personally I think of a balloon being filled with air, and Layne says he thinks of scooping water into a cup from a lake"

"Here" she continued tossing him the orb "Try it out now"

Ichigo concentrated on an image for a second and found one he thought would work "Got It"

"Then imagine your hands at the things being filled and the Orb will just leech straight off it" Moll replied distractedly

Moll moved outside the door and put her face in her hands, lost in memory as she whispered "Layne"

"Are we really going to get anything done here?" Joel complained exasperatedly

Every Captain had been called off to another Captain's meeting and had dropped their Lieutenants off at a supposed Lieutenants meeting, forgetting that they'd finished their weekly meeting two hours beforehand.

Captain Ukitake had been too sick with his tuberculosis yet again and so Captain Kyoraku had come to guide Joel, as his directional sense was nearly as bad as Kenpachi's

Kyoraku had an ulterior motive however. His Lieutenant, Nanao Ise had injured her foot on her last field mission and wasn't allowed to walk on it and had to be carried anywhere if she wanted to get there fast. She had point blank refused to allow Kyoraku to carry her and he had capitulated and gotten Joel to do it.

So when Joel arrived at the meeting, with Nanao giggling at one of his jokes on his back, he had earned a few weird looks and one even blanker that usual look from Nemu, who felt incredibly sick at that point in time when she caught sight of him and Nanao.

For a couple minutes they kept up the pretence of having a meeting before Joel lodged his complaint.

Lieutenants Sasakibe and Omaeda gave Joel a deathglare, but he didn't mind, one was fat and the other was boring and Joel had already beaten both of them in a sealed form only duel.

All the other Lieutenants flashed him a grateful look and they split off into small groups

Sasakibe with Omaeda, Renji with Kira and Hinamori, Nanao with Yachiru, Matsumoto and Isane, and Hisagi with Iba

Joel was about to move over to join Renji even though he didn't know Kira or Hinamori all that well, when someone tapped his shoulder and he turned around

It was Nemu

"Joel, would you please accompany me for a short conversation", she said in a polite, but slightly strained tone

Joel immediately noticed the subtle difference and instantly guess something was wrong

"Whats wrong Nemu?" He asked concerned

"Nothing at all"

"C'mon, give me a little credit, I know you better than that"

He grabbed her arm and flashstepped them both out of earshot of all the other Lieutenants.

"So whats up?" he asked lightly

She looked directly at him and Joel was momentarily stunned by the intensity of her gaze

"Do you have a romantic interest in Lieutenant Ise?"

"No" Joel started laughing "Why would you ask that, I mean she's nice and all but she's gone on Kyoraku and its pretty obvious"

"Then why did you carry her here?"

"She point blank refused to let Kyoraku touch her and she can't walk on that leg yet, so Kyoraku made me carry her so she could guide me seeing as there are spirits of babies with better directional sense than mine"

Nemu calmed down, so she still had a chance to make him hers, as Rangiku-san put it

As she opened her mouth to consolidate her position the intruder alarm sounded

"All Squads, report to combat stations!" the announcer boomed

"Crap" Joel muttered, partly cause he thought this had something to do with Layne and party because he'd forgotten where he was meant to go

"Where's 13th stationed again?

"With 12th" Nemu replied dispassionately, though inwardly quite pissed off at whatever intruder had interrupted her way with Joel

"Then let's go" and Joel picked up Nemu and piggybacked her as they were going to the same place anyway

Nemu's disappointment faded instantly.

Three shadows watched them leave and a female voice began to snicker as soon as they were gone

"Looks like the freak's slutty creation wants to get jiggy with your brother, the new lieutenant"

"Whatever" a second voice said in a bored tone "Hopefully I get to kill the both of them for Aizen, thought it's a damned shame Ichimaru got to Layne before we did; I still owe him a couple of scars

"Even if Layne was still alive, He'd be mine and mine alone to kill" a third voice warned

"I'm not saying anything otherwise" The other voice exclaimed hastily

"Good, now let's get back to our squads, we gotta keep this façade up for as long as Aizen says

Everyone currently eating in Kuukaku's meeting hall was suddenly finding it a little harder to breathe as a massive reiatsu started emanating from the firework room

"What's up with this pressure?" Uryuu asked, a little unnerved by it

"It's Kurosaki-kun" whispered Orihime

As soon as the words left her mouth Kuukaku was out the door heading for the base of the firework launcher with everyone else close behind her

They came upon Moll outside the room and gasping for breath

"What happened?" Kuukaku demanded

"I'm sorry… I just taught him how to do it… He needs to refine and focus" Moll choked out

Layne and everyone else didn't understand but Kuukaku did

"IDIOT!" she screeched into the room "Refine and focus your reiatsu already!!

Within a few seconds, everyone was breathing easy again and they all walked into the room to see Ichigo in a perfect Shield Orb

"I got it!" He shouted in surprise

"Go Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime shouted back

As Ichigo celebrated his victory over reiatsu manipulation cracks began to appear in the bubble

Layne's eyebrows raised a fraction in alarm and Kuukaku shouted "Don't Lose your concentration!!" but it was too late

The Orb exploded and a couple of minutes when the smoke cleared Layne was buried under a pile of rubble with his legs sticking out in midair and Kuukaku was kicking the crap out of Ichigo, everyone else who had waited outside was lucky and unaffected by the blast

"So what did I tell you about concentration!" Kuukaku said furiously

"Not to lose it under any circumstance" Ichigo cringed from Kuukaku's furious fist

"Then what happened?, Did you do it on purpose you punk?"

"Kuukaku" Yoruichi Interrupted, "Leave it alone, when all of us are in the same orb it'll be alright because the rest of us can compensate for this idiot"

"I guess" Kuukaku mumbled, disappointed at not being able to hit Ichigo more

"If that's sorted then Yoruichi-san, could we get on with the plan?" Uryuu asked impatiently, as Chad, Moll and Inoue dug Layne out from the rubble

"Of course Ury-YOWOW!!"

Yoruichi started screaming because Ichigo had passed out behind her and grabbed her tail in one hell of a deathgrip.

"Get it off! She screeched"

"Shit" Joel cursed, kicking the air

"Not a single freakin sight of invaders," he repeated angrily "You got anything Nemu?

Joel and Nemu had immediately gone and organized their squads when the intruder alert had been called, and then split into a team by themselves and combed over the areas being searched by the two squads, it was unorthodox, Mayuri would hate it, he hated seeing Nemu getting close to people other than himself, though he didn't realize the reason she wasn't close to him was entirely his fault. Though Ukitake would love it, he always approved of interdivisional co-operation, and the fact that Joel was indirectly protecting Nemu from Mayuri was just icing on the cake

"No, I have been unable to locate any, physical evidence or reiatsu that would suggest any intruders have been in this area" Nemu said flatly

"I'm banking on false alarm, everyone's edgy cause actual intruders is a rare sight here in the Seireitei" Joel mused

"That would be a logical conclusion"

"Eh, Lets go back, it's getting freakin late"

Late at night outside the Kuukaku mansion Layne sat sipping from this stuff that Orihime called Bean Paste Lemonade, but actually tasted exactly like tonic water and getting all maudlin watching the stars, when Moll joined him, snatched his bottle, took a drink and spat it out

"What the hell is that stuff?" She asked as she gagged "They make tonic water here in Soul Society?"

"Nah" Layne replied unperturbed by her usual action "This is Orihime's Bean Paste Lemonade, not as good as the real thing, but it's not bad"

"Hell only you could drink that shit anyway"

They sat in silence for a few more seconds before Moll decided to tap into her recalled feelings from earlier "Layne?"

"Hmm?"

"Why are we here?"

"To rescue Rukia"

"The real reason, not what Ichigo, Orihime, Chad, Uryuu and Yoruichi-san are here for"

Layne was silent as he took another sip of the bean paste lemonade and leaned back against the wall of the house

"I'm here to find Joel, I figure this might be the best chance we have"

"Yeah" Moll replied "That too, but I think I found another reason to fight"

"Oh?"

"Do you remember the day we, us and Joel became friends?"

Layne chuckled, a rare display of emotion for him "You bet I do, I'd show you the scars but this hand covers them" he said as he indicated his hollowfied hand

"Yeah, It was one hell of a day

--Flashback—

_Moll and Joel walked along the sidewalk talking about crap, school had been out for about half an hour and it was a Friday afternoon and they were heading to Joel's for a swim_

_As they walked they came upon an unfair sight, that solitary kid Layne getting the shit kicked out of him by three people Moll and Joel knew very well._

_Jed Bluzer, Joel's older brother and a regular hardcase, you name it he smoked it, sniffed it, shot it, injected it, whatever, hated Joel and Joel hated Jed, why he would be beating up on Layne though Joel had no clue_

_Anita Schwietzer, Funny name, bad attitude, Moll and her went way back and hated each other from the day they set eyes on each other_

_And the leader of the group, Kieran Cantrell, Layne's very own half brother, cold and sadistic, currently thrashing Layne with an Iron pole_

_Layne himself was introverted, he was in Moll and Joel's year but he didn't really talk to anyone, but he wasn't weird, just gave off the impression that he liked to be alone. He hadn't been at school today and there had been some talk of his mum dying, Moll hoped not. She'd met Layne's mum and had found the woman to be in a word, awesome_

_Layne wasn't even trying to defend himself, he was just letting the three rain blow after blow on him while he stood there, not even flinching_

"_Joel we have to save that idiot"_

"_Looks like he's doing fine to me"_

"_Look at the condition he's in you idiot"_

_Joel jumped into the fray and kicked Kieran's pole away and grabbed Jed's fist while Moll punched Anita and made her jump back_

"_What the hell are you doing you idiot?" Moll yelled angrily "Fight back, there's no reason to stand there and take this shit, look how badly your hurt"_

"_Oh look," Anita began scathingly, "It's the Roner and the Baby Bluzer interfering with our fun"_

"_Ahh well, I was getting bored anyway" Kieran mocked, "C'mon Jed, Anita"_

_They turned and walked off a little way away_

"_What the fuck are you doing" Moll berated Layne angrily "Just cause your mums dead doesn't give you the right to go get yourself killed"_

"_Ye-"Joel began to say as a knife thwacked from nowhere and impaled him in the arm, the same thing happened to Moll except it hit the fleshy part of her leg and they both went down_

_The three goons hooted with laughter "Who knew those idiots would think they got rid of us that easily" Kieran guffawed_

_Layne's eyes widened in shock as the two people that just saved his ass passed out from the pain_

_Kieran readied a third knife "I'd say I'm sorry Layne, but I'm not, so fucking die and leave me all your cash"_

_Kieran arched his wrist and threw the knife on perfect target for Layne's head_

_But by now Layne had come to a decision, anyone who would have looked into his eyes as he looked at the fallen forms of Joel and Moll, two people he knew by association but not as actual friends, would have been surprised by the intensity of the fire burning behind those usually unemotional eyes_

_As the knife arced towards Layne's head he moved his hand faster than the goons eyes could follow and the knife buried itself deep in his palm_

"_Your knives don't hurt as much as you think they do" he said calmly, twisting his body to face them head on as he pulled the knife from his palm and inspected the hole it left behind_

"_No fucking way" Jed whispered, "Kieran is the fastest knife thrower around"_

"_You know, whether someone owes you, or you owe them" Layne continued flashing a glance and both Moll and Joel "The moment you start a fight, you're in the wrong either way. But this time I'm going to forgo my principles. And I'm going to fucking break the three of you"_

"_Bring it on Layne" Kieran smirked_

--Flashback End—

"Even back then I was posturing" Layne commented

"We sorta forgave you after you saved our asses and kicked the shit out of three of them and got em thrown into jail" Moll replied chuckling

"And then we three became friends"

"But do you remember what you said when I asked you why the hell you hadn't dodged that knife instead of blocking it?"

"I'm not some punk who can sit back and let others get hurt for my sake?" Layne replied perfectly quoting himself, and incidentally Ichigo earlier

"Ichigo said the same words earlier when I asked him why he wanted to save Rukia so bad, and it's that reason alone that I'm going to follow him, because I think he's cut from the same cloth as you Layne, and you know I'd follow you and Joel to the ends of this earth for a good reason"

"I know he's cut from the same cloth as me" Layne replied lightly "There's something else too, some underlying current that makes you trust him to be honest"

"You should know about that idiot" Moll stated as she walked inside the doors "You have the same thing, now hurry the fuck up and get to bed, we're shooting our asses out of that cannon at dawn tomorrow.

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**a/n - and so ends chapter 6**

**Yes i invented Hado no 6, Hellflame Inferno, I have a funny feeling Hado no 5 might be some kind of icebeam too =P**

**Once again thanks Wulf 4 Life for reviewing, I can tell he likes the story, so much that he borrowed Layne for his current story Hellbound, read it cause it's freaking awesome**

**Please leave some Reviews, I'm writing this story for myself mainly but i would enjoy it a hell of a lot more if i got some tips, some suggestions of stories to read to improve my style, suggestions of stories to read for the hell of it i don't care XD**

**Yes i borrowed Layne's quote in the flashback section "The minute you start a fight your in the wrong either way", from Kyoraku in manga chapter 375, it was awesome so I used it =D**

**but once again, review!!!**

**As a special offer if i get reviews from at least 5 different people for this story I'll pump out an extra chapter for tomorrow as well as a new one shot maybe featuring Layne/Joel/Moll or just canon bleach characters, so tell me what you'd like to see**

**But seriously if your taking the time to read this, i really appreciate it, it makes me happy seeing all those hits on my page XD thought it would be cooler if you left a review (even if you shoot a Hellflame Inferno at me =P)  
**


	7. Chapter 7: Break Through the Sky

**a/n: Took a little longer to write this chapter, got very badly distracted (So much Star Trek and Rocketbear) xD so apologies if a few bits seem a little rushed  
**

* * *

Before dawn the next morning Kuukaku made Ichigo and Layne raise the fireworks platform to ground level.

When it was up, the group sat around waiting for Kuukaku to finish talking to Moll.

"I'm going to do Kuukaku Style 2, reckon you can handle it?" Kuukaku asked lightly

"Easily", and Moll's grin was full of confidence, she felt that much better about this whole thing after talking to Layne last night, though she was still determined to make sure no one died

"Then let's do it"

Moll went and joined the others by the base of the launcher

"Get In brats" Kuukaku yelled "I'll fire as soon as the dawn breaks"

The group got in the base of the launcher and stood around the orb in a circle with one hand each touching it, except for Yoruichi, who just stood on top of the orb in cat form

"Now listen up" she began "Our objective here is to rescue Rukia, so don't wander off on a tangent about some other stuff," and here she glanced at Layne who stared back and at Moll who affected disinterest

"If you run into a Captain Class enemy, run, and don't take any stupid risks" Yoruichi finished, as she looked at each of them in turn

Dawn broke over the horizon and Kuukaku grinned, "Here we go Yoruichi!" she shouted as she pulled a sword from a sheath behind her back and slammed it into the podium

As the tube sealed Yoruichi shouted "Here we go, put your reiatsu into the orb!"

Outside Kuukaku began the incantation "The Red Bronze requires thirty-six degrees of adjustment, thirteen pairs of whistles, seventy-two pairs of shade."

She took a breath and grabbed her headband with her good hand, wrapped it around her hand and set it ablaze

"The Apes right hand grabs the Star" she intonedas she slammed her flaming fist into the podium

"Embracing twenty-five suns, the cradle of sand is bleeding" she finished as the ball containing the group was launched into the air

"KUUKAKU STYLE TWO – KAGIZAKI!"

* * *

In midair, Ichigo was looking around blankly "Y'know, that wasn't as much of an impact as I expected"

Layne mentally counted down the seconds before Ichigo's words would come back to bite him in the ass

"3…2…1…"

And they shot forward with such speed that Ichigo and Orihime nearly lost their balance

Moll pulled out a long sheet of paper out and responded to Layne's unspoken question almost immediately

"Kuukaku says that version two, has two incantations, one for the shot and the other one for the heading, if you wanna survive this don't talk to me"

"How are you supposed to focus your energy while you're paying attention to that?" Uryuu wanted to know

"I'm not, so just cover for me"

And without any more acknowledgements to them she began to read

"Kuukaku Style Two – Follow-up Incantation, Fate of Three Birds, Fate of Four Dragons, No Road in Five Directions, No Return in Six Miles…

"Um Kurosaki-kun, you're a little too strong" Orihime mumbled timidly

"Oh okay"

"Kurosaki, Lower!" Uryuu snapped

"Ok"

"Ichigo, too strong" Chad muttered

"I'm lowering"

Moll continued as if there had been no interruption "A thousand ashes, a thousand intellects, the cloud tactic…"

"Ichigo" Layne started

"WHAT!"

"Tilting towards the Yin, away from the fiery red shadows, a thousand ashes, a thousand intellects… SHUT THE FUCK UP" she screeched throwing away the scroll and punching Layne...not Ichigo

"…What the hell?" Layne managed to say

"Sorry, force of habit" she apologized

"This is no time for stupid things" Yoruichi snapped, "Throw as much energy you can into the orb to harden it" We are about to crash into the shield!"

* * *

Various reactions were seen as the firework hurtled towards the shield

Outside the 11th division Captain Zaraki Kenpachi and his Lieutenant watched the orb with barely disguised glee,

"Finally, some new enemies to fight" was the lone thought percolating in his head

* * *

Outside the 6th Division headquarters, Captain Byakuya Kuchiki watched the orb fly in with a neutral expression, while Renji mouthed "What the hell is that"

* * *

Joel kneeled on the top of a roof, taking a good look at the orb

"So you've come, Layne" he whispered to himself

* * *

Three shadows flashstepped their way into the Central 46 headquarters with their first warning of the Orb.

They forgot to seal the door behind them so it was lucky that no one was close enough to hear the screams from inside

* * *

And finally, one midget Shinigami wearing a reiatsu sealing collar sat in the Senzaikyuu watching and reflecting on the narrow sky,

Hey eyes widened in surprise at the sky brightened and then darkened as if a flash of lightning had moved in slow motion

* * *

The orb collided with the shield above the Seireitei and the group were suddenly floating in midair

"Why aren't we falling?" Ichigo asked quizzically

"Don't separate!" Yoruichi shouted "This is only temporary; soon a tornado will start and blow us away!"

Almost as if by magic, as soon as the words left Yoruichi's mouth the wind picked up intensely

Chad quickly grabbed Orihime, and Ichigo grabbed a hold of Layne, who grabbed Moll, Yoruichi leapt over and snagged her claws into Moll's shihakusho.

Unfortunately Chad missed Uryuu's hand and he started to fall out of the vortex

"Uryuu!", everyone except Chad shouted

Chad merely grunted and acting instinctively, launched himself after Uryuu, leaving a surprised Orihime behind.

When he reached Uryuu he tossed him back into the vortex with such force that Uryuu flew directly for Orihime and she grabbed onto him

Chad shot towards the ground like a bullet

What he didn't consider was that the path that Uryuu would travel would intercept the arm that Layne was using to hold onto Moll,

Layne grunted as Uryuu collided with his arm and immediately let go of Moll on reflex

"Shit" he muttered as Yoruichi and Moll were sucked out of the vortex and Moll screeched "You Idiot Layne!!!"

* * *

From the ground it looked like the orb split into four streaks of golden light

"Damn" Kenpachi growled, "They separated into four"

He looked at each of the streaking beams in turn, narrowing his eyes, "Now which one is the strongest" he muttered

* * *

As the beams went down each person in the beam used very different methods to land safely

Chad called out the armor for his arm and charged up one of his energy blasts

Orihime used Santen Kesshun to break her and Uryuu's fall like she did when the group exited the Kouryuu

Moll and Yoruichi were slightly more screwed, had Yoruichi been alone she could have easily landed using flashsteps, but she couldn't drag Moll in cat form and there was no time to transform.

Luckily Moll didn't plan on dying because of a stupid thing like that

"Rise Inside!, Sora!" she called, releasing her zanpakuto

A keyblade appeared in her hand, and Yoruichi immediately scrutinized it, she hadn't seen Moll release before and this keyblade looked different to Layne's Oathkeeper, its shaft and key part were all silver and the handle was dark blue, and it had three joined circles hanging off the end of the yellow handle guard.

"What are you going to do" Yoruichi yelled into Moll's ear

Moll didn't answer, and just shouted "Permeate!"

Moll and Yoruichi became insubstantial, almost like a traditional ghost and hit the floor, falling right through it into the sewers

Moll deactivated the ability and they began moving along the sewers in an attempt to find an exit.

Layne and Ichigo kept falling

"Shit" was all Ichigo could say

"I got this" Layne said, sounding unworried. He bent his knees in midair and began to solidify the reishi beneath his feet. Just before they hit the ground Layne pushed off the solidified block of reishi and backflipped twice before landing neatly on the ground.

The solidified block of reishi however kept moving with the speed they had been travelling at and hit the ground with the impact of a meteor, making a large crater

"Well, what do we do now Ichigo?" Layne asked when the smoke from the impact cleared,

"We make our way to Rukia" Ichigo replied

"Hah-ha, So Lucky" A voice sounded from the roof behind Ichigo and Layne, They stiffened in readiness as two figures jumped down in front of them

"Jeez," The bald one said "Originally we thought that standing guard took too much effort so we bailed, but look Yumichika, the guys we are looking for ended up in front of us anyway"

The one with peacock feathers and a weird (in Layne's opinion) haircut replied

"Its Beautifully lucky isn't it Ikkaku"

"Ahh well, Lucky for us, but you two" he said, shifting his attentions to Layne and Ichigo

"Are very unlucky"

"Eh?" questioned Layne and Ichigo, staring blankly at Ikkaku and Yumichika

* * *

Yoruichi and Moll ran through the sewers, discussing what to do… and Layne

"It might actually be better this way, though I would of preferred Layne be here, since he is faster than you, no offence intended Moll"

"Don't worry Yoruichi, I'm actually a little scared that Layne can get that strong and still not complain every time I kick the crap out of him" Moll said with a tight smile

"Either way we need to set up a base somewhere, where the Onmitskido won't find us"

"Well you're the one who seems to know everything about this Seireitei place, we would have had to fight all those Shinigami waiting for us if you hadn't told me about the sewers that ran underneath this place"

"…really?"

"I don't want to use Permeate on barriers too thick cause I'm not sure how long I can keep it up for and I risk getting embedded in something solid if it fails in the middle of a wall or something. I do have another move which would have made us land safely but I figured it would be better if we got away rather than wasting our energy in pointless fights like Chad is doing at the moment and like Ichigo and Layne are probably going to do"

"Well said, Moll"

They reached a ladder and Yoruichi jumped on Moll's shoulder as she began to climb up

"If we are where I think we are then there should be a good spot to hide reasonably close" she whispered into Moll's ear

"Aight"

Moll exited the ladder and flashstepped away just in time to avoid the three shadows that had been tracking her reiatsu

"Fucks sake" the female voice muttered "She's got the fuckin' cat with her, we can't fight that"

"Goddammit!" The second voice sounded, punching a hole in the wall "We should have gone for it anyway!"

The pure bloodlust in his voice would of made any other person quail in fear but the third voice just said

"Calm the fuck down, there will easily be another chance at them"

* * *

Meanwhile Ichigo and Layne couldn't believe the sight in front of their eyes.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"WHAT THE HELL!" Ikakku screeched "I did the Lucky Lucky dance to give you guys some time to run away, but you just stand there like dumbasses?"

"…"

"…"

"Why would we run away?" Layne asked finally as he unsheathed Roxas "If you're stronger than us than you'll just overtake us and we'll have to fight anyway"

Ikkaku's eyes narrowed at that, these kids knew what they were talking about

"But if you're weaker than us, we can take you down and move forward promptly, that's what I thought at least" Ichigo finished, putting one hand on Zangetsu's hilt

"Maybe you guys aren't as dumb as you look" Ikkaku replied with a grin.

He turned his attention to Yumichika "Which one do you want Yumichika?"

"I don't really care" the effeminate Shinigami replied offhandedly, busy looking in another direction

"Then you can have the one that feels weaker" and Ikkaku's grin changed from sane, to maniacal as he looked at Ichigo, who responded by tightening his grip on Zangetsu.

"Hold on Ikkaku, this situation is most unbeautiful" Yumichika complained "It's impossible for both fights to go one on one in this most ugly cramped space"

Layne and Ichigo sweatdropped but Ikkaku took him seriously

"Your right Yumichika, we can't have a proper one on one in this small space"

"Let's take this elsewhere then" Layne said unemotionally as he flashstepped off making Yumichika followed

"I have got to learn how he does that" Ichigo muttered

* * *

Layne and Yumichika ended up next to a giant pit, so deep that Layne couldn't see the bottom

"I spose this place is as good as any" Layne commented as he brought Roxas up into a combat ready position

"Your skipping through proper pleasantries is quite tiresome and ugly" Yumichika pouted

Layne closed his eyes and silently cursed whatever deity had plagued him with the narcissistic ones

"Layne Trell" he answered finally, opening his eyes and tightening his grip on Roxas

Yumichika smirked "Ayasegawa Yumichika, 5th Seat of the 11th division, the best combat division of the Gotei 13" he declared unsheathing his zanpakuto

"Hmph, I'll believe it when I see it" Layne shot back as he began the fight, charging at half speed and aiming a side cut at Yumichika, who moved his zanpakuto to block it.

And the fight was on.

Dodge, Parry, Block, Strike, Duck, and Swing. The moves ran through Layne's head as he performed the actions they conveyed, with nearly perfect timing, only receiving a small cut on the back of his left hand and shoulder.

He felt Ichigo's reiatsu surge and swung Roxas faster than normal and managed to lop off one of Yumichika's feathers

The falling feather seemed to move in slow motion and Layne suddenly got the feeling that things were very bad

"You…chopped…feather…my…ugly…" Yumichika snarled with rage and held his zanpakuto out to the side

"Bloom! Fuji Kujaku!" he yelled and the once ordinary katana split into something that looked like four sickles leading into the hilt

"The release is out, about damned time" Layne muttered as he threw Roxas to the side "Drift! Roxas!"

The sealed zanpakuto disappeared in a flash of light and Oathkeeper appeared in Layne's hand

"Let's fight for real then, Layne Trell" Yumichika declared hatefully

* * *

Ichigo ran along the alleys of the Seireitei, having defeated Ikkaku and gotten his directions and was now looking for Layne

"Where is that guy" he thought to himself "Ikkaku said that the feather-face that Layne was fighting was the 5th strongest guy in the 11th division, so he might need my help… but I can't find him!"

Ichigo sucked in a deep breath and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"LAYNE, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU, DO ONE OF YOUR WEIRD FLASHY LIGHT MOVES SO I CAN FIND YOU!!!"

Unfortunately he ran past an alley containing some 11th division members who heard his shout, they pulled up their weapons and immediately began chasing after him

"Crap…" said Ichigo to himself, "I forgot that they were looking for me"

* * *

Layne heard Ichigo's shout and smiled inwardly while Yumichika smiled outwardly at the supposed stupidity of Ichigo

"Does your friend have a brain?" Yumichika asked scathingly "Doesn't he realized that the entire Gotei 13 is out to get him?"

"Do you have a brain?" Layne countered "If Ichigo is running around like an idiot then that means he defeated that bald guy"

Yumichika's eyes widened in shock and his demeanour changed "Perfect" Layne thought, "His reiatsu is unfocused enough to allow to cut through as easily as if it was air"

"Ikkaku can't lose; the 11th division is the strongest of them all, and he's the third strongest of us all!" Yumichika said angrily

"Like I said, I'll believe it when I see it" Layne said calmly, taking the offensive once more and swinging Oathkeeper for Yumichika's face,

Yumichika brought Fuji Kujaku up to block it, but this time rather than just hitting the blade and stopping, Oathkeeper cleaved right through all four prongs and connected with the side of Yumichika's head and sent him flying directly into the wall, where he cratered and slumped down, unconscious

Layne couldn't resist looking back and doing a little posturing "If you let your emotions get to you in the middle of a fight, it's over" he said as he resealed Roxas

Once done he flashstepped off to join up with Ichigo

* * *

Moll and Yoruichi sprang across buildings, feeling for everyone's spiritual pressure

"I feel Ichigo, Uryuu, Chad and Orihime, but I can't feel Layne at all" Moll said worriedly

"Don't worry about Layne" Yoruichi replied, "He's probably using a special reiatsu masking technique I taught him"

Yoruichi extended her senses and counted the pulses of reiatsu she could feel. Uryuu's, Orihime's, Chad's, Moll's and Ichigo's, and sure enough, Layne's hiding under Ichigo

"He's just using Ichigo's reiatsu as a shield"

"Why's he doing that?"

Well the real reason was that Layne's Vizard reiatsu was extremely pronounced to a trained observer, Uryuu had his suspicions but Ichigo, Chad, Orihime and Moll just accepted that Layne felt like Layne and didn't question the hollow like feeling they got

Now Yoruichi couldn't actually say that Layne was using Ichigo's massive reiatsu as a shield to hide the hollow like feeling because the Gotei 13 would instantly zero in on Layne and Ichigo's location and send more troops than they could handle

So instead of the long explanation Yoruichi opted for the less complicated one, the one which wasn't exactly telling the truth, or exactly lying.

"He's using Ichigo's reiatsu to subtly shield himself from observers; anyone searching by reiatsu scanning will just feel Ichigo's unnatural reiatsu but ignore Layne's unless they actually know he's there"

"Oh, okay then"

Yoruichi faced forward and thought to herself, "You must not die, everyone, stay alive"

* * *

**a/n**

**Hooray, finally squeezed the chapter out**

**Hope your enjoying the story so far and you should drop a review and let me know**

**...seriously its a real ego buster to see ~25k words and 4 reviews... help me out plz =D  
**


	8. Chapter 8: Oblivion

**a/n - Here it is, chapter 8, Happy new year to all**

**disclaimer - No owning of bleach or kingdom hearts for me (which is actually good, cause the characters might be as bad as how i write them =P)  
**

* * *

"Jeez, they're persistent bastards, eh? Ichigo" Layne pointed out calmly as he and Ichigo ran away from a mob of 11th division, who were shouting stupid things like "Move Faster!" and "For Captain Zaraki!"

"Sadly" Layne continued, ignoring the 11th "There are possibly too many for us to safely take on all at once" In contrary to his usual unemotional inflection, Ichigo noticed, Layne was beginning to betray his emotions in his voice at the moment it was amusement and… disappointment?

Ichigo was about to replied when another stupidly large mob of 11th came around the corner Ichigo and Layne planned to turn down

Blocking both routes of egress they sneered in contempt as one

"Shit…we're trapped" Ichigo muttered as he grabbed hold of Zangetsu

"It would appear so" Layne replied, narrowing his eyes at the assembled Shinigami and easing Roxas out of its sheath

As the 11th prepared to swarm them, a small human ball named Hanataro Yamada came rolling through the group of 11th behind them and ended up stopping just before Ichigo's feet

Ichigo gained a nasty grin and Layne's eyes started twinkling

"I just thought of a way to get out of here Layne"

"You too? Let's do it then" Layne replied as he held Roxas out in front of him

"Drift, Roxas!"

Roxas disappeared in a flash of white light and Oathkeeper appeared in its place

"Hey!" Ichigo shouted as he picked up Hanataro and shoved Zangetsu against his neck "Let us through or your friend dies!"

"…"

"…"

Layne's had a blank look as he turned to Ichigo

"Maybe we should say it again" he said dryly

As soon as the last word issued from Layne's mouth the entire 11th division collectively burst out in laughter

"If you want to kill him go ahead" one person jeered

"Two birds with one stone"

"He's not part of the 11th so we don't care anyway"

"Now hold on a second" Ichigo sputtered indignantly "Just because he's not your friend, you don't care if he dies? That's horrible!"

"Nicely said" said Layne with a sweatdrop, and then grinned as he felt Chad's reiatsu nearby

Swinging Oathkeeper in an arc in front of him while making it look like a stretch he muttered "Riptide Strike"

"Dammit" Ichigo said having finished his tirade against the 11th "Guess we have to fight our way out"

Chucking Hanataro under his arm he pointed Zangetsu at the mob behind them and Layne moved Oathkeeper into a combat ready position when an explosion engulfed the Shinigami behind them

"Chance!" exclaimed Layne

"Rain!" he shouted and a wave of dark green reiatsu shot from the arc he had made with Oathkeeper earlier and cut a swath through the 11th in their way

Ichigo and Layne hauled ass, dragging Hanataro with them

Chad stepped out through the hole in the wall he had made and looked around

"I could have sworn it was Ichigo's reiatsu here, just a second ago" he thought to himself as he noticed the remaining 11th members who were all pretty ticked

"What the fuck?, you messed up our chance to score!"

"Are you a friend of those two?!"

"…Probably"

"Awesome! We'll finish you in five minutes for getting the in the way of the 11th division" they shouted

"…I'm sorry…but that's not going to happen" Chad replied calmly

"What did you say?"

"This won't take five minutes…because I will finish this in two"

And he turned towards the 11th with primal reiatsu surging off of his arm and blowing holes in the wall nearest to it

*Boom*

"Are you sure you don't want to answer my question? Eh? Madarame-kun?

Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi stood by Ikkaku's bedside with his finger pointing at a recently made and still smoking hole in the wall

"I'm sorry Captain Kurotsuchi, but I was beaten and I didn't even catch the face, nor reiatsu feel of my attacker, I don't even remember what it sounded like"

"Mayuri-sama…" Nemu began, intending to say that there would be no point in asking any further questions and that she sensed Zaraki's and Joel's angry reiatsu's nearby

"Shut up Nemu, you worthless whore" Mayuri snarled, moving in to slap her, only to have his hand cut off by a flashing zanpakuto

Joel sheathed his zanpakuto as he leant against the door frame, crossed his arms and glared at Mayuri coldly

"I thought I told you, freaky kook, if you were going to assault Nemu again then I was going to interfere"

"How dare you" Mayuri snarled, his every word dripping with fury as we reached down with his intact hand to unsheathe his zanpakuto

A powerful reiatsu surged behind Joel and Kenpachi entered the room, sword drawn and ready for a fight

"Oho, if you're going to try and challenge my wounded third seat to a fight, I'm going to have to accept on his behalf, Mayuri Kurotsuchi" Kenpachi said with his usual grin when the prospect of a fight came up

Mayuri was outgunned by Kenpachi and though he didn't like to admit it, Joel and so he had no choice but to leave, with what dignity remained him

"Come, Nemu" he snarled pushing his way past Kenpachi

She made a move to follow him but Joel help up a hand to stop her

"She's staying here with me, freaky kook" he said without looking at Nemu, and avoiding a sight of her gigantic blush

Mayuri just left anyway, what did he care if the Nemu model 001 had useless failings like emotions and caring for people, he already had a second one waiting to be finished anyway

When Joel was sure Mayuri had left, he relaxed and Kenpachi let his monstrous reiatsu down a notch

"Thanks, Kenpachi, I don't think I could have gotten the bastard to leave on if I was by myself" Joel growled, still angry from the attempted assault on Nemu

"No problem" Kenpachi replied, and then let out his monstrous reiatsu out again "But you owe me a fight later!"

Joel blanched at the thought, well…shit

"Captain?" asked Ikkaku once Kenpachi turned to face his bed and let his reiatsu down again

"Yahoo!" Yachiru piped up, sticking her head over Kenpachi's shoulder

"Oh, the Lieutenant is here too" Ikkaku said, sounding mildly surprised

"Are you alright? I was soo worried baldie" she continued

Ignoring the vein pulsing in Ikkaku's shiny forehead Kenpachi took over the conversation

"I heard you lost a fight"

Joel's eyes widened and he took his attention off Nemu and began listening into Ikkaku's conversation

"Yes, I know that failure is unacceptable but Yumichika and I came back anyway after losing a fight"

"Are they strong?"

"Their reiatsu is impressive, and the one who I fought has great skills, and is getting better incredibaly fast, if you see him it should be a brilliant fight, He has orange hair and a sword as long as he is"

"Yosh, then I'll go see Yumichika about the other one

Joel and Nemu followed Kenpachi and Yachiru, who was still on Kenpachi's shoulder into Yumichika's room, Joel hoping to hear news about Layne, and Nemu seeing nowhere else to go other than with Joel, simply followed him on reflex while plotting ways to snare him

"Yo, Yumichika" Kenpachi began

"I heard you lost a fight"

"Yes captain, it's a most unbeautiful thing that has befallen me" he pouted

"Is he strong?"

"His release cleaved through the blades of Fuji Kujaku as if they weren't there, He had messy brown hair, and his zanpakuto is normally in the sealed form of a normal katana"

"Alright then" Kenpachi grinned, "He sounds pretty strong too"

Nemu whispered something into Joel's ear and he blanched

"Yachiru" Joel said with resignation "We have a Lieutenant's meeting in 10"

"Sorry Ken-chan, I'll be back a little later kay"

"Whatever" Kenpachi replied

Yachiru transferred to Joel's shoulder and began kicking him

"Your sooo slow Joe" she began as he started walking

A vein pulsed dangerously in Joel's forehead and he flashstepped over as fast as possible to rid himself of the pink annoyance as soon as he could, good thing too, or he would have been absolutely amazed at the intensity of the deathglare Nemu was giving Yachiru as she followed behind him.

"My name is Hanataro Yamada" Hanataro began

The three of them, Layne, Hanataro and Ichigo were on top of a building with a good view of the surrounding area, but it was hard to see them from the ground

"…Why are you introducing yourself to us?" Layne asked with a blank look

"Yeah aren't you our enemy?" Ichigo added

"Why did you even bring him along?" Layne wanted to know

"I didn't exactly want to leave him there to get slaughtered by his fellow Shinigami" Ichigo replied defensively

"Well whatever. Did you manage to learn anything?"

"That Ikkaku guy said Rukia would probably be in the Senzaikyuu" Ichigo remarked, pointing at a white tower in the distance

"…Rukia" Hanataro half whispered

Layne and Ichigo looked at Hanataro again blankly

"Your still here? You can go now we don't want to hurt anyone we don't have to"

"Um, is the Rukia you're talking about Rukia Kuchiki-san?"

Layne nodded before Ichigo could stop him

"Then I know of a shortcut to the tower, I can lead you there"

"Then let's go" Layne grinned as he started moving off

"Hold it" Ichigo snapped "Why are you so willing to help us save Rukia, aren't we your enemies?"

"Actually… I sincerely hope you will save Rukia-san" Hanataro replied and launched into a long emotional speech

Layne sat down and relaxed, they might be here for a little while

Joel, Nemu and Yachiru made it into the meeting a couple of minutes late

That weird Iemura guy was there too, Joel noticed, also noticing the absence of Isane, 4th's Lieutenant

He leant over and whispered to Nemu "Isn't he a third seat?"

"Iemura Yasochika generally delivers the casualty reports with Lieutentant Kotetsu is otherwise occupied" she whispered back

"The seated officers that have left the field are as follows: Ayasegawa Yumichika, 11th Division, 5th Seat, and Madarame Ikkaku, 11th Divison, 3rd Seat" Iemura stated

"Most divisions are reporting minor injuries but the 11th division is reporting to have been completely wiped out."

Each Lieutenant instantly gained a shocked and horrified expression. Embarrased probably could have been added to that if they knew that out of seven Ryoka, Only three had actually engaged the 11th division and the one who had beaten most of them wasn't even the strongest of the three

"These guys are overpowered" murmured Hisagi, recovering the quickest

"The entire 11th…" Kira muttered

"We've also lost contact with the 4th seat of my team" Iba spoke up "Can you send someone to check on him in Grid 20 West?"

Iemura nodded and made a note on his clipboard and waited for the Lieutenants to finish

"4th seat, 4th seat… Isn't that Jirobo? The Kamataichi?" Matsumoto asked

"Jidanbo's brother?" Hisagi added

While all the other Lieutenants were busy talking, Joel caught sight of Renji sneaking out, shedding his Lieutenants badge as he went

Joel grinned, he knew exactly where Renji was going to go and he needed to get there too, so he stalked off, making sure all the other Lieutenants were occupied enough to not notice him,

He didn't count on Nemu who was continually watching him and paying attention to his every move, to follow him and so he didn't notice her.

A sewer hatch popped up and the top half of Hanataro's head popped out and surveyed the surroundings

"It's all clear" he called down the ladder

Ichigo and Layne leapt out of the hatch immediately and gasped for air

"God, it feels like I haven't breathed fresh air for ages" Layne groaned

"Take a look, this is as close as I can get you to the Senzaikyuu" Hanataro said

He pointed at the centre of the Seireitei where a white tower stood prominent on a raised section of the city

"Let's get going then" Layne said

"Hold It" Ichigo said sharply throwing a hand up to halt Layne's advance "Someone's there"

Renji stepped down the stairs, Zabimaru out and at the ready

"Remember me? Ichigo Kurosaki?" he asked arrogantly

"Renji Abarai" Ichigo replied, immediately unsheathing Zangetsu

"Who is this guy?" Layne asked Hanataro calmly "He has a totally different reiatsu to all the other guys we've met"

Hanataro was shaking with fear, not being able to resist Ichigo's, Layne's and Renji's high reiatsu density all at once with no effect

"That's Renji Abarai" he replied nervously, licking his lips "6th division Lieutenant"

Hanataro's eyes suddenly widened and he fell to his knees, pointing at a figure emitting a fourth reiatsu

"And that's… Joel Bluzer… 13th Division… Lieutenant" he choked out

At the sound of that name Layne's face drained of all blood and he turned to look where Hanataro was pointing

Sure enough, it was Joel, in full Shinigami attire with his zanpakuto unsheathed and held at his side

"Yo, Renji" he drawled, "You might of told me where you were leaving to, to save me some time"

"Shut it, your ones over there" Renji replied, indicating Layne

Joel flashstepped over a few metres away from Layne

"Joel" Layne said, recovering a little and walking a little towards Joel then jumping back to dodge the swing Joel suddenly made

"What the hell!" Layne asked angrily

"Amazing" Joel replied "It's really is you Layne, only you would have been fast enough to jump back as you moved forwards"

"…What?"

"Because of our friendship Layne, It's only fitting that I am the one to kill you"

"Have you lost it?"

"I've sworn an oath to the Gotei 13 Layne; I need to defeat all of you Ryoka"

"You don't need to do anything other than going to find Moll and apologizing for making her cry herself to sleep the first few nights we were here" Layne stated coldly, unsheathing Roxas and preparing for the fight

"It'll have to wait until she lays on the ground, dying from a wound inflicted by my blade" Joel replied impassively

"That's it, I'm going to beat you here, and then go find Moll and make you cry as you apologize to her"

"I'm sorry Layne, but you're going to die here and have your name recorded as another enemy of the Shinigami. Though since you are my friend, it would be an insult to your abilities to use anything less than my absolute best"

Joel brought his zanpakuto up in front of him and turned it to the side

"Make Your Choice; Riku!"

The ordinary katana disappeared and a new sword appeared in its place, it was shaped like a scimitar that resembled a red and blue outstretched batwing from the hilt

"Riku's Darkness: Soul Eater" Joel proclaimed moving into a combat ready stance

"Yeah" Layne replied, resigned to the fight

He sheathed Roxas then picked it up sheath and all and threw it to the side

"Drift; Roxas"

Moving his left hand as if he was gripping a blade Oathkeeper appeared

"Let's get this over with" Layne said sadly

Layne flashstepped behind Joel attempting a strike similar to Byakuya Kuchiki's Senka move

Joel merely grinned, turned to the side and muttered "Earth's Power: Magnetize"

This was actually going to be easier than Joel had originally thought

When Layne went for the strike Oathkeeper hit the reiatsu shield and was bounced off, momentarily surprising Layne and removing his guard entirely for a split second

That split second was all Joel needed to win; he brought Soul Eater up in a deep diagonal slice right across Layne's chest

Blood spurted from the wound, Oathkeeper vanished in a flash of white light and Layne hit the ground, defeated

Joel turned around and looked at Layne's unconscious form

"It's sad that I had to resort to the fact you'd never seen Riku's abilities before to beat you Layne. We could have had an epic fight" Joel remarked, strangely detached as he turned away from Layne's fallen body

"I can't bring myself to make the final blow, so once Renji beats this other guy he'll do it, if you haven't bled out by then" Joel finished, moving over to sit down where he wouldn't have to look at Layne's body

Layne woke up to the sound of rushing water and an uncomfortable feeling of a rock poking into his back

"Alright, at least I know where I am" Layne thought to himself with resignation

Sitting up and opening his eyes and sure enough, it was that same lake with Roxas sitting under that same dead tree

"That was pathetic" Roxas commented, Layne got up, moved over and sat beside him

"Yeah, I know, I wasn't prepared for the knockback that his move had" Layne replied

"It's not because of that, you were holding back, if you focused all your reiatsu into Oathkeeper at that point you could have sheared straight through it"

Layne sighed, "I can't focus my reiatsu into Oathkeeper, This…" and he lifted up his hollowfied right hand "…Seems to draw the power away like water down a funnel"

Roxas said nothing but inwardly was quite shocked, seems _it,_ had had enough of being sealed away

"I didn't want you to use this as… It could bring problems a bit later" Roxas began neutrally "But it seems that I've been given no choice in the matter."

Roxas stood up and moved a little away from the tree, while Layne watched in interest

Roxas scuffed a little of the rock away then pounded the ground

Nothing happened for about three seconds, then Layne noticed this water in the lake churning and a second dead tree emerged from the ground up from where Roxas had pounded it

Layne stared at the new tree with interest, It was different to the tree Roxas sat under, while that one was brown, this tree was all white, as if it had been composed of ash

Roxas stuck his hand into the tree and pulled something out and tossed it to Layne,

"Here, you'll know what to do"

As Layne vanished from the inner world Roxas moved down, sat under his tree and looked at his right hand, and surely enough it was turning pale white

"I hope that idiot can contain the hollow" he muttered

Ichigo was barely standing over Renji's broken and bleeding form, Joel was amazed

"No way could this kid beat Renji" was the thought percolating through his head

Ichigo collapsed, unconscious and Joel moved over

"Sorry kid, I don't generally like to finish off beaten opponents but since Renji was going to kill Layne, I spose I'd better finish you off" he said with resignation

"And just who exactly… was going to be killed?" A voice sounded behind Joel

The blood drained from Joel's face and he turned around

"Impossible" he said with pure shock as he gazed upon Layne, forcing himself to stand, bleeding heavily from the diagonal wound across his chest

"Very possible" Layne countered "If you can't even keep me down, I doubt you could kill Ichigo, even when he's like that"

"Bastard" Joel muttered as he charged forwards only for Layne to catch Soul Eater with his hollowfied hand

"No Joel, you're the bastard, the only reason Moll and I came was so that we could find you, we just tagged along with Ichigo and the others because they were coming, though we found our own reasons to swear with them to the very end" Layne, paused in his speech, recalling the night where he and Moll made an oath to Yoruichi to stick with Ichigo

"You on the other hand, have been fine, and the first move you make when you see me is to try and have me killed. I'm not sure if I can forgive you for that, but I will try."

Layne tightened his grip on the Soul Eater and tossed it aside, Joel who was frozen by Layne's rising reiatsu levels couldn't move at all as his zanpakuto flew away

"This is my second form Joel" and Layne brought both hands back and gripped something in midair

"Roxas: Oblivion and Oathkeeper!!!"

Smoke engulfed the two Shinigami and Hanataro's sight was obscured at he tried to make sense of what was happening

The smoke cleared and Layne stood over Joel's bleeding form, holding not one, but two Keyblades, his White Oathkeeper in his left hand and a black one Hanataro could only assume to be Oblivion in his right.

"I'm sorry Joel" Layne said flatly as his gigantic wound began to seal up and disappear "But this power feels like death, so you might be lucky if you survive"

And without a further word, he hit Joel with Oblivion, full force and Joel flew backwards into the wall next to Renji and slumped down, utterly beaten

Layne sealed his zanpakuto and was surprised to find that they sealed into two Katana now, rather than just the one from before

"Hanataro!" he called, "There are people coming, we should get Ichigo back into the sewer"

He moved over and picked Ichigo up, slung him over his shoulder and followed Hanataro back to the sewer entrance.

* * *

**a/n - Hope you enjoyed reading the chapter as much as i enjoyed writing it, Layne vs Joel is one of the defining points of my idea for this fanfic, though it'll prolly turn out like Renji vs ichigo did with them becoming good friends (yet again) XD**

**this was a rather long chapter to write i think it might actually be my longest chapter yet XD**

**Your reviews help the writing process!!!! The more reviews i get the better i feel about myself and the faster i churn out my stories!!!**

**so please press the (it's green on my screen) review button and drop me a note i would love to hear some feedback!**

**btw no bleach anime till 5th makes me sad and so does WSJ releases during holiday periods =X**

**Gigantic cliffhanger with Ichigo popping out of the garganta behind Aizen  
**


	9. Chapter 9: This Time

**a/n - G'day, how's everyone new year proceeding, this chapter was actually finished a couple of days ago but i've been doing a lot of holiday homework =X so i didn't really have the time to post it**

**apologies  
**

* * *

"How is he, Hanataro?" Layne asked as he sat and watched Hanataro work on Ichigo is a storeroom down in the sewers at little way away from the hatch where they had emerged, The storeroom was clean, full of medical supplies, and miraculously without smell

"I just need one night to completely heal him" Hanataro replied distractedly

"Aight, then I'll be back soon"

Layne left Hanataro to his work, and proceeded through the sewers to where a powerful reiatsu was emanating

Since Ichigo was down and not emitting anywhere near enough reiatsu for Layne to hide behind, Layne would have to take on all comers that came sensing his reiatsu

He rounded a corner and immediately caught sight of the source of the reiatsu

A youthful woman with long black hair, strangely braided in the front, wearing a captain's haori, and an extremely tall silver haired woman, with a lieutenants badge stooping down so as to not hit her head in the narrow confines of the sewers.

Layne was immediately on guard, and he immediately unsheathed his now dual zanpakuto and held them at his sides, the white one with the star shaped tsuba in his normal left hand, and the black one with the crown shaped tsuba in his hollowfied left hand

"I don't particularly want to fight" Layne said to them with resignation "But I really can't let you get past me"

"Isane" The captain said simply

"Yes Captain" The silver haired Lieutenant acknowledged and unsheathed her zanpakuto

"Run, Itegumo!"

The main blade of the zanpakuto extended and became double edged and straight, and two small prongs that mirrored the shape of the main blade grew out at forty-five degrees at the base of the main blade

"Now be careful Layne" Roxas warned inside his head "Last time you took on a Shikai without knowing it's abilities, you got slaughtered"

"I know that Roxas" Layne muttered "But Joel himself admitted it was a onetime thing"

"On the other hand, my ability to keep that bigass slice on your chest is reaching its limit, so you need to finish this quickly"

"Anything else?"

"You also expended a bit too much reiatsu earlier in Oblivion's first release and I'm not sure your able to go into Shikai"

"…you really should tell me these things before I rush off out of my hiding spot"

Layne sighed and brought his attention back to the two Shinigami, who were watching him oddly

Layne felt the perverse need to explain himself

"Sorry… My Zanpakuto" he offered up lamely

Blood began to spurt at the bottom corner of Layne's chest and he grunted with pain

"I really can't let you pass" he repeated, moving into battle stance to hide the pain he felt and willing the wound on his chest to not open up any further

"Isane" the captain repeated

Isane pointed Itegumo at Layne and whispered sometinhg

Layne braced himself for whatever it was that was headed his way, but he felt nothing

Roxas simply said "Oh shit" and went silent

The two Shinigami made their way next to Layne and were not even in defensive stances, right within striking distance

Layne willed his arms to move, his legs to kick but it was useless, they were suddenly and completely locked up

"I don't believe Itegumo's ever had this much of an effect ever before" The captain said with interest

"It's probably has something to do with the fact his zanpakuto feels like a water element base, while Itegumo is ice, or…" and here Isane blushed and said the rest under her breath "…my training paid off"

The captain smiled gently and returned to examining Layne

Unfortunately for Layne, just because his limbs were locked, didn't mean his reiatsu expenditure was

The wound that Joel had made and Roxas had sealed burst open again, spectacularly and Layne collapsed, whatever the power of Itegumo, it was unable to keep him up as he blacked out

* * *

Kira and a few members of the third arrived at the scene of the fight of Renji and Joel vs Layne and Ichigo

His eyes were immediately drawn to the sight of Renji, lying on the floor, slowly bleeding out

"No way..even Renji-kun was defeated" he muttered in shock

"Lieutenant Kira!" One of the 3rd shouted " It looks like there were some people that ran away, should we give chase?"

"No" Kira replied "It's more important that we get Lieutenant Renji out of here"

"Strange" Kira thought to himself as the 3rd began to work "There's no trace of Lieutenant Bluzer"

Even though his reiatsu saturated the air, along with two other reiatsu's that Kira had felt before

The reason Kira hadn't been able to find Joel is that when Layne had bailed with Ichigo and Hanataro, Nemu had come out of her hiding spot and assessed both Renji's and Joel's injuries

Renji was the more damaged physically, but Joel's reiatsu was still being sucked by something, more accurately Layne's Oblivion Keyblade

"A sinister weapon" Nemu thought, remembering it, Gothic looking and so black it seemed to suck in the light surrounding it

It was a weapon that Layne couldn't possibly control fully just yet, she assessed

And it was currently eating Joel's reiatsu alive, even after Layne had left the immediate area and resealed it

Nemu analysed the effect with her enhanced mind, almost instantaneously

The effect was similer to the Shikai ability of Ayasegawa Yumichika's, Ruri'ro Kujaku but moving at a far slower pace, and there were no vines

"Reversible, but I need to get him back to the 12th to do so" she concluded to herself

Easily hoisting Joel over her shoulder and retrieving his zanpakuto, she paused for a second to examine it

Shaking off useless thoughts she flashstepped then to the 12th

* * *

Ichigo woke up in the 4th division headquarters, though he didn't know that, so he attempted to get up and look around but got pushed back down.

"Remain still, Ichigo Kurosaki, you are among friends" someone said

"Where am I?" Ichigo asked groggily

"4th division HQ, In my personal quarters"

The voice sounded female and Ichigo opened his eyes only to see darkness

"I'm blind!" he exclaimed worriedly

The voice giggled "Now, now Ichigo-kun, let me finish dressing this wound and I'll take off the eye covers"

"…"

When the covers were removed Ichigo was shocked

He'd expected the owner of the voice to be a woman, but he hadn't expected her to be wearing a captain's haori

"SHIT!" he practically screamed "You're a capt-" cut off as her hand immediately clamped over his mount

"And you shouldn't scream so loudly Ichigo-kun, unless you want to attract the attention of people who would like to kill you"

Even though she was smiling gently Ichigo felt a sense of extreme fear

"Mmph" Ichigo made the noise as he nodded

"Excellent"

She removed her hand from his mouth and the doors opened and Isane walked in, piggybacking a conscious Layne

"Yo, Ichigo" he said, looking over Isane's shoulder "You look a lot better now"

"Layne!"

"Yo?"

"What happened"

"You beat that Renji guy"

"I saw you cut down"

"Takes more than a cheap trick and a life threatening slash to keep me down"

"Isane" interrupted the captain "Why are you carrying Trell-kun?"

"Itegumo's freezing effect is still active Captain, probably because of the water nature of his zanpakuto"

Isane set Layne down on a chair and then moved over and stood by her captain

"So what exactly happened to me?" Layne asked

"And who are you two?" Ichigo added

"Let's start easy, shall we Isane?" The captain said gently

"I am Retsu Unohana. Captain of the 4th division and this is my Lieutenant, Isane Kotetsu

"No wonder I couldn't do a thing" Layne murmured

"And as for you" Isane took up the explanation "Itegumo is an Ice element zanpakuto, It's special ability is to deep freeze, my opponent's inner world"

"She's right Layne" Roxas spoke up inside "I just woke up in here and the lake is thawing, snow is falling in clumps from the trees and its freakin' cold"

"Thanks for that Roxas" Layne replied mentally

Out loud he just said "You scared the shit out of my Zanpakuto"

Isane blushed and turned away, while Captain Unohana smiled and Ichigo chuckled

"Where's Hanataro?" Layne asked, attempting to move his legs

"He should be back at work" Isane replied, still looking away

"He's right outside the door, listening to every word we say" Unohana said. Opening the door, and watching as Hanataro tripped and rolled inside the room.

Hanataro got up and smiled sheepishly, "I've brought the item's you asked for Captain"

He held up Zangetsu and both of Layne's zanpakuto

This, more than the actual healing convinced Layne and Ichigo that they were among friends

"We need to continue on Layne" Ichigo said

"Yeah"

Layne got up, having regained a measure of control over his legs and stumbled over, grabbed all three zanpakuto, tossed Zangetsu to Ichigo and slung the other two at his sides

"Ready when you are Ichigo" he said, wobbling a little on his feet

Ichigo made no mention of that and simply holstered Zangetsu over his shoulder

"Thanks, Unohana-san, Kotetsu-san, Hanataro" he said has he opened the window and jumped out of it

"So he leaves me to do the proper goodbye" Layne complained

"Be aware, Trell-kun" Unohana stated "This is probably the only aid we are able to give you"

"Yeah. But why would you help us in the first place?"

Unohana fixed him with a piercing stare

"There are dark undertones moving through the Seireitei, Three seated officers who are more than they seem, a captain and several members of the 11th division murdered, and you ryoka were too far away to be the cause of it"

"We didn't come to fight, just to rescue Rukia" Layne replied

"Do be careful then, Trell-kun"

"Aight" and he followed Ichigo out the window

* * *

Joel woke up, feeling significant pain and the sensation of being clamped down

Nemu noticed his awakening and moved off of him

"Good Morning Joel"

Joel decided not to ask why she had been laying on top of him

"Morning Nemu, mind telling me just what happened?"

"You lost"

Joel blanched

"I know that, how about after I blacked out?"

"I carried you here, reversed a potentially fatal reiatsu drain, and have been by your side for the two days of your recovery"

"You sat there for two days?"

"Actualy" and the normally unemotional Nemu blushed" I was lying next to you for two days

Now it was Joel's turn to blush

"I…"

Just what Joel was about to say was cut off by Mayuri bursting into the room

"Nemu! You worthless whore!" He shouted upon entering

Mayuri was so agitated he didn't even notice Joel lying there

"Research to do…Aizen dead…Tracking Orders.. who does the Captain Commander think he is"

"Probably the Captain Commander" Joel muttered under his breath

"Nemu I'm going out on a Ryoka hunter, and I'm taking the data you provided on the two Ryoka Lieutenant Abarai encountered

"Yes Mayuri-sama

And with that he stormed out

"That was unexpected" remarked Joel

"It's to be expected, everyone is on edge. Since Captain Aizen's death

"Aizen's dead?!" Joel exclaimed "Damn, this just got dangerous"

* * *

Ichigo and Layne climbed out of the sewers at the same point they had exited yesterday

"Weird, you think they would post guards at the scene of a fight" Layne commented

"Well, whatever, Lets get moving, this time we have to make it"

"Hold it Ichigo, how do you think all the others are doing…like… Uryuu and Orihime?

"Both of them are much smarter than I am, they won't fight anyone they can't win against

"Moll?"

"You should have faith in your own friends, but she's with Yoruichi-san, so she's probably the best off out of all of us

"How about Chad?"

"He's fine"

"You sure"

"I've felt Chad's presence since we entered the Seireitei… and besides… It's completely unimaginable that Chad would lose to anyone

* * *

Joel got up out of bed, and put on a shihakusho, in the 12th HQ

"Right Nemu, what were the last orders we got

"Capture the Ryoka, Captain-class Shinigami only"

"I'll have to apologize to Captain Ukitake later then"

Joel slammed his fists together, coming to a decision "Let's go see Renji then"

Nemu sighed, a crush on him she did have, but his spates of what passed from logic were extremely confusing sometimes

* * *

Ichigo and Layne ran along an alleyway near the base of the Senzaikyuu

"Good thing those guys were allies Ichigo, I… really couldn't do a thing to stop them

"Don't worry about it Layne. I was unconscious and you had expended too much reiatsu

"This time…we'll definitely make it"

They rounded a corner and both missed a step as an overpowering reiatsu fill the air

"What…the..hell?" Layne choked out "It's like the…reiatsu particles are fused here"

Ichigo just stared in shock at the figure sitting on the roof of a building adjacent to the two

He was grinning inanely and even from that far away Ichigo felt like he had his sword pressed up against his throat

Layne picked himself up, not bothering to hide his reiatsu behind Ichigo's and letting enough out so he felt more at ease

Kenpachi dropped down and stood behind Ichigo, grinning at the situation

"Yo, kid, you might want to keep that reiatsu hidden, I don't really care but others might take offence to such a hollow like reiatsu"

"Get going Ichigo" Layne said

"What?"

"Get to the Senzaikyuu, Rescue Rukia, Get everyone out, I'll hold this guy off"

"What are you on about?"

"Layne…there's still icebergs in this lake" Roxas warned "You can't possibly fight at full strength"

"Don't tell Zangetsu that"

"Too late" he replied almost apologetically

"Layne…" Ichigo said

Layne sighed, "I'll get going, would of thought that you would want to be the one to save Rukia yourself though"

Layne sped off and Ichigo watched as Kenpachi made no move to pursue

"Aren't you going to chase after him?"

"I don't give a shit about Kuchiki, I just came for a good fight"

"That's good then"

* * *

Yoruichi felt the unholy reiatsu and shivered, despite the distance from it

"It's time to move" she said tersely to Moll, who had really done nothing except train and complain during said training"

"About fuckin' time" Moll replied irritably, getting up and slinging Sora at her side

"You know the plan right"

"Get Layne while you get Ichigo, and we bring them back to this cave"

"Good luck then"

Yoruichi watched as Moll flashstepped off

"Sorry, Moll" she whispered to herself

* * *

Layne felt Moll's reiatsu rise immensely and then fall to a nearly unnoticeable level

"Dammit, got no choice but to press on" he muttered to himself

He spied two guards standing outside a large door, discussing how scary Kenpachi's and Ichigo's reiatsu's were

With a small smirk, Layne jumped down and disabled the first one with a jab to the face

The other one quickly drew his zanpakuto and attempted to cut Layne down but Layne grabbed the zanpakuto with his hollowfied hand and split the blade into three shards, then grabbed the shinigami's shihakusho and tossed him into the wall

Now the only thing that stood between Layne and Rukia was a bigass door

* * *

Rukia too had felt Ichigo's reiatsu rise and fell despite the Sekkisekki stone

She felt a wave of despair wash over her at the situation she had put him in

"That idiot should just let me die" she thought miserably

And that's when the door behind her blew open and Layne stepped through and over the chunks of broken door, shaking his hollowfied hand and wincing in pain

"Dam man" he complained "That shitty rock hurts"

Rukia just stared at him in shock

"A..are you…one of Ichigo's friends?"

"You could say that, point of that matter is I'm here to bust you out"

"W..why?

"I don't really know to be honest, I don't know you, and I don't really know Ichigo, but one of two people I thought I did know recently tried to kill me, so I think I'm going to help whoever the hell I choose"

Moving over to the next door Layne continued

"and right now something is telling me that the best way to continue along my new path is…"

He paused and punched through the other door

"…to help Ichigo in whatever way I can" he finished as the door crumbled to pieces in front of him

A powerful reiatsu washed over them as they exited and stood at one end of a bridge

Rukia fell to her knees, unable to move as she was weak from her extended stay in the Senzaikyuu

Layne was unaffected by it and he simply curled his upper lip in disgust as he recognized the owner of the reiatsu

"Hello Layne" Anita said sultrily unsheathing her zanpakuto "Long time no see"

Layne did the same, and watched her impassively as she moved a little closer

"I was surprised to see that it was you and your friends making all this trouble in the Seireitei"

"It's actually more of a surprise to me that you're on the side of the law in this place, than it is for me to actually see you here" Layne replied

"It is a nice change? Isn't it?" she laughed

"Let's cut the crap, You're here to stop me and I'm going to break through, so why don't we just get it done

"So rude, but I suppose your directness is one of your attractive points"

"That's what you said when I got you tossed into jail last year, and before that when you tried to seduce me and I walked out on you"

"Well…whatever" she giggled playfully, brandishing her zanpakuto "I suppose I have to stop you anyway"

She pointed the zanpakuto at him "Make him fear the darkness. Kagetsuki!"

Her zanpakuto morphed from a simple katana into two purple gloves with four black daggers with silver edging which she gripped in the gaps between the fingers of her right hand

"How's that ice Roxas?"

"I just melted the last small cube between my fingers"

"Alright then"

Layne returned his attention to Anita in time to block her knives with one of his zanpakuto

Layne raised an eyebrow "With your style, the katana would be more appropriate, isn't Shikai meant to work with your best fighting style?

"Or focus on a specific special ability" she replied, smirking as she bounced backwards

Layne frowned. That smirk wasn't an expression you'd expect from someone who's just been pushed back

He felt the killing intent and dodge to the side just in time to turn a debilitating blow from behind into a minor slice of his shihakusho

"What the..?"

Layne checked behind him

A shadowed figure stood there, resembling a Shinigami brandishing a black katana

"See my shadow creature Layne? This is Kagetsuki's special ability, look a little closer at him Layne"

Layne scrutinized the shadowed figure and was revolted by what he saw

The figure had the exact same face as one of the 11th members Layne had beaten up a couple of days ago

Layne's face betrayed his shock

"You can impersonate anyone"

"Nothing so refined, I'm afraid"

"Then…what?"

She sighed, "It's probably a big mistake to explain my zanpakuto to you but I've never been able to resist requests from handsome men"

Layne noticed at this point that the number of blades in her right hand had gone from four to three

"Kagetsuki is a special zanpakuto"

She tossed the remaining three blades onto different positions of the bridge, and three more shadowy Shinigami rose where the blades had landed

They all had the visages of members of the 11th

"Shadow Soldiers" breathed Layne

"Are you wondering why they all look like some of the 11th you defeated a few days ago"

"Only a little"

"Think of Kagetsuki as a jar, after you beat these 11th up I went and killed them, using their souls as fuel for my power

Layne looked sick

"You bitch…this…this is monstrous"

"It would be even better if I could absorb a spirit capable of Shikai, sooo.. why don't I absorb you Layne?"

Layne's reiatsu rose in anger

"Drift! Roxas!"

Layne's katana's disappeared and Oathkeeper and Oblivion appeared in their place

"Why don't you just try it" he challenged

Layne charged at Anita and she sent her shadows to intercept, reinforcing them with her reiatsu

Anyone watching the bridge would only have seen deep green, and purple reiatsu's flashing in the air above it.

* * *

**a/n - Hope you enjoyed that chapter**

**Kagetsuki - It either means Shadowstrike or Moonshadow, i can't settle on one because i reckon both fit the zanpakuto's ability**

**let me know in a review what you think it should be XD**

**i'm not going to plead for reviews in this chapter, seeing as it didn't work in any of the others=P**

**but i am going to thank you yet again for taking the time to read my work, even if you don't actually see the thanks XD  
**


	10. Chapter 10: Surge

**a/n - about freakin time that i finish another chapter, i've sorta been distracted pretty recently and i only thought of the title for the chapter like two seconds before i started typing this XD**

**enjoy and once again, i don't own bleach, nor kingdom hearts, but Layne, Joel, Moll, Kagetsuki are all characters of my own devious mind  
**

* * *

In a small cave under the Sokyoku Hill, Ichigo lay in a futon, passed out and slowly waking up

He opened his eyes a crack and thought to himself "Where am I….I'm still alive?"

"Looks like your awake"

Yoruichi at next to him, in cat form

"Yoruichi-san… It's a good thing your still ok"

"Hmph, better than you do"

"Ahh did you rescue me…thanks for that"

"You should thank your own stubbornness, which was probably the only thing that kept your injuries from killing you"

"Injuries?...Well I did get hit quite a few…."

Ichigo trailed off and realized something important

He sat up abruptly and the wound on his chest began to bleed again

"You Idiot!" Yoruichi exclaimed "You can't sit up just yet, don't you know just how bad your injuries are!"

"Chad's in danger… I need to go save him"

Yoruichi sprang up and pushed him back to the ground

"Calm down, Chad is fine, so are Orihime and Uryuu"

"Eh?"

"The captain Chad was fighting isn't a bad guy, so even though he was injured, he was transferred to the 4th, and Orihime and Uryuu have done fine, they haven't gotten into many fights and are both hardly injured.. So you just stay there and rest, someone half dead won't be able to help anyone"

Ichigo nodded and was about to ask where Moll was, seeing as the last he had seen of her, she was with Yoruichi, when Yoruichi spoke up again

"Also, half of this thing you were carrying got smashed, it's was pretty lucky cause if it hadn't I would have been looking at two of you now"

She pushed the mask Ichigo had been wearing when he emerged from the Shattered Shaft

Ichigo was surprised

"Yoruichi-san…I smashed this under Urahara's store, I don't have a clue how it got back to me"

Yoruichi's eyes widened in shock but Ichigo didn't seem to notice

"Oh well" he said as he moved to grab it

"Wait… I'll hold on to it"

"Whatever"

Ichigo moved his arm back from the broken mask and stared at the ceiling

"You know, you're pretty amazing Yoruichi-san"

"Eh?"

"Running around the whole time without even getting hurt, and then carrying me here with such a small body"

"Oh, well there's really no problem once I return to my original form"

"Ahh I see…you original for…"

Ichigo looked shocked

"Original Form!"

"Come to think if it, I've only shown Layne and Moll so far"

She did a cat smirk,

"Oh well, I spose there's really no point in keeping it hidden anymore"

And with that she morphed into her human form, minus her clothes

Ichigo turned the exact colour of a strawberry, but she didn't seem to notice

"You look surprised Ichigo, though I don't really blame you, probably thought I was a man from the way my cat voice sounds, Anyway I should explain how I carried you here-"

"PUT ON SOME FREAKIN' CLOTHES!!!" Ichigo shouted

"Ahh sorry, sorry" she began dressing "Anyway I used this thing" she held up a white thing that looked like a claw on a stick and gave it to him

"…What does it do?"

"You put your reiatsu into it and you can fly, Its pretty unique, so you should feel honoured to have it"

"…"

"I said feel honoured, not be silent"

"…You shapeshift, you cure wounds, and you have something rare like this…Yoruichi-san, just who are you?"

A crushing reiatsu filled the room before Yoruichi could answer

Ichigo instantly knew that it was Byakuya

"That's coming from the direction of the Senzaikyuu" Yoruichi exclaimed as Ichigo got up and rushed past her, still holding the flying stick thing

"Oi, where do you think you're going Ichigo!" she shouted at him

"Layne was going to the Senzaikyuu! If I don't go he's going to get hurt!" Ichigo shouted back "FLY!"

The stick he was holding reacted to his reiatsu and turned into a giant wing, and Ichigo flew off into the distance

* * *

"I felt the faint reiatsu heading towards the Senzaikyuu, I knew at once it was someone with at least a Lieutenant's power trying to hide their reiatsu, but I was expecting Ichigo Kurosaki… To only find you here, how disappointing" Byakuya said calmly, surveying the scene

Layne with both his keyblades out, bleeding a little from a small cut on his shoulders, Anita face down on the bridge, totally knocked out and Rukia, sitting back against the rope wall, doing her best to stand up

"Sorry, to disappoint" Layne replied easily, mentally cursing the fact he had taken too long beating Anita and given enough time for Byakuya to make his way there

"I don't suppose you'd be willing to let me pass"

Byakuya didn't reply and Layne sighed,

"Let's get it done then"

Byakuya disappeared from sight, and blood spurted from a new slice up Layne's left arm

"What the hell?"

"Sorry Layne" Roxas said inside " I guess you weren't as well recovered from that ice as I thought"

Layne dropped to his knees, gritting his teeth against the pain

"Vanish, it isn't worth dirtying my sword on the likes of you" Byakuya said, reappearing behind Layne, sword sheathed

"Wow, you think I've lost a fight by just one cut? You're not as good as you think you are, Captain Douchebag" Layne grinned again, his inner dickhead taking over

"You'd need to rip my heart out and slice it into a million pieces before I'll admit defeat" he continued, picking himself up and gripping his keyblades tightly

"Then I shall just have to make this next blow the last" Byakuya replied, showing no sign that he was irked by the insult

He brought his sword up in front of his face and looked like he was about to whisper to it

Rukia screamed "No!, Nii-sama!" but it was too late

"Scatter, Senbonzakura" and his blade seemed to split into numerous pink flowers which floated around, seemingly aimlessly

"What the hell is this?, Doom of Shitty Pink Flowers?"

Byakuya made no reply, but swung the hilt in Layne's direction and the floating pink flowers became a storm and headed towards Layne

As they flew at him Layne saw them glinting and realized they weren't flowers, but blades

"Shit" he said and crossed Oblivion and Oathkeeper in front of him in an attempt to at least block some of them but before the storm reached him a blast of air hit them and they dispersed

"How do you always end up like this Layne?"

Moll landed in the space that the petal blades from Senbonzakura had previously occupied, zanpakuto released

"I was fine, thank you very much"

"You can't hide stuff like that from your zanpakuto"

"And I assume Roxas told Sora?"

"If I said no, would you refrain from giving him the lecture you're going to give him later?"

"No"

"Ok then, yes"

They continued bickering, but Byakuya after getting over the minor shock of Moll's appearance, and waiting a couple of seconds for them to finish arguing, decided enough was enough and sent Senbonzakura's blades back at the two

Unfortuanately Moll was too busy arguing to notice the storm of blades until she had a multitude of deep cuts all over her, Layne however, a little more used to actual combat had sent a quick Rain at the blades headed in his direction and gotten most of the, but the rest had basically shredded his other arm

"Bastard, don't you know it's polite to wait for your opponents" Layne growled, now pissed off, a little at Moll cause she was stupid enough to chat during a fight, and a lot at Byakuya cause of his Doom of Shitty Pink Flowers

Byakuya said nothing, just brought the hilt of Senbonzakura around to bring the bladestorm down again but was stopped as his arm was grabbed from behind by someone

"I think that's enough, wouldn't you say? Captain Kuchiki"

"Capt… Captain Ukitake" Rukia whispered

"Oh Kuchiki, Your looking well" he greeted Rukia cheerfully

Layne sweatdropped

"What is the meaning of this, Ukitake?" Byakuya asked

"Oi oi, that's my line, releasing your zanpakuto in the center of Seireitei is an offence, even if you are fighting the Ryoka"

"This is a wartime situation, the ban was released"

"War Time? Is this related to the murder of Aizen?

Ichigo's reiatsu overtook them and they were momentarily stunned

"What is this reiatsu? It's clearly a Captain's level but I can't recognize it… who is he?"

"This reiatsu… could it be" Rukia whispered in awe

"About fucking time", Layne muttered

A white wing shot up from next to the bridge and flew up, Ichigo trailing behind it, he came down and landed right in front of Rukia, who had gotten up to stare at him flying

He ignored Rukia as she said "Ichigo…"

He made his way over to Layne and Moll, lying on the ground

"Sup" greeted Layne, Moll just groaned in pain

"Sorry you came all this way and ended up getting so beaten up"

"Don't worry about it" Layne replied neutrally, tearing the sleeve of his shihakusho into strips and binding the slice on his left arm "I think I would of gotten into a fight with this jerk anyway, you say Rukia's his sister?"

"Aye"

Ichigo moved back over to Rukia, who was staring at him wide eyed

"Rukia…I came to save you"

Rukia started tearing up

"What the hell are you making that face for?" Ichigo said, irritated "Your going to be fine, so be happy"

"Idiot" she replied "I told you not to come, I forbade you from coming, now you and your friends are all hurt"

She dropped her head, so he didn't see the sight of her crying

"If that's it, you can get mad later…after I beat this guy"

"What the hell are you talking about Ichigo" Layne said, having finished his bandaging job on himself and Moll "After _we_ beat this guy"

"Ichigo…" Ruka tried speaking up again

"What the hell? You'd better not be trying to tell us to run away, cause I'd never even think about that" Ichigo replied, turning his back to her

"You see all this blood?" Layne spoke up indicating Moll's, and Ichigo's injuries "This is effort, this is the price we paid to get our asses up here, running away now would just waste all that"

"Exactly" Ichigo agreed "So I'm not going to listen to anything you say, so don't bother idiot!"

"Wh..What the hell is that supposed to mean!, Your ignoring the rescues opinions? What the hell kind of rescue attempt is this" Rukia shouted at him

"Shut Up! You're the one being rescued, so you should be in a corner somewhere quivering with fear" Ichigo shouted back

Layne facepalmed

"Idiot" Rukia said, calming down "You never listen to anything I say"

"And you need to stop with all the nagging" Ichigo replied, turning slightly "Don't worry, cause I won't die just yet, I've gotten better since you've been in this hole"

"Can we get this over with" Layne spoke up, sounding bored

"Whatever"

Ichigo and Layne took a few steps closer to Byakuya and Ukitake

"Look at you standing there, you didn't even step closer while we were talking for all that time" Ichigo said cockily

"Why would I…need to sneak up on the likes of you" Byakuya replied "Don't overestimate yourself"

And Byakuya let his reiatsu loose, filling the air and placing a crushing weight that pushed Rukia to her knees, and caused Moll to start coughing

Ichigo unsheathed Zangetsu and Layne tightened one of his cloth bandages and cracked his neck

"That all you got?" He asked lazily, seemingly more powerful after the small beating he had taken than before

"Let's finish this, Byakuya Kuchiki" Ichigo said, grinning

"I do not have the time to waste with gnats like you two"

He brought his sword up in front of his face, which Layne recognized as preparation for his Shikai

"Shit, not this again" he thought to himself, and readied Oathkeeper to fire a Rain

"Scatter" Byakuya began, but before he could finish a white ribbon snaked out and enveloped the blade

Yoruichi appeared, holding the ribbon's end, and instantly apparent and the one who had wrapped it around Byakuya's blade so fast it appeared to be done all at once

"Ex-captain of the Stealth Forces, Yoruichi Shihoin" Byakuya, said, identifying her as he recovered from his shock nearly instantly

"Yo, Yoruichi" Layne greeted "Nice of you to join the party"

"Yoruichi-san…If you came to save me, thanks but, please move aside, cause I need to defeat this guy"

"Defeat him? By Yourself?" she scoffed and then disappeared from sight

She reappeared with her hand in Ichigo's stomach wound

"What…" He managed to say before he passed out and she picked him up and held him over her shoulder

"OI!" Layne shouted, feeling betrayed "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING YORUICHI"

He made a wild slash at her with Oblivion which she dodged, and while he was spinning around around for a second attack he got clobbered from behind by a silver keyblade and went down

"Retard" Moll said, putting her keyblade over her shoulder as she stepped over his fallen form "How could you doubt that she's on our side"

Yoruichi jumped back and picked Layne up and slung him over her other shoulder

"Get going Yoruichi" Moll said "You won't be able to outrun this douche with those two dead weights, so I'll hang here and keep em busy"

Yoruichi flashstepped to the roof of a nearby building

"Three Days, Little Byakuya, in three days I'll make them both stronger than you" and with that she flashstepped off

Byakuya turned around and walked off, leaving a very confused Moll, Rukia and Ukitake

"What the…?" Moll asked, beginning to sway a little as her resolve left her

"Well I guess he always does whatever he wants anyway" Ukitake muttered, shaking his head in confusion

"Bah, and to think I got beaten cause I was too busy being stupid" Moll berated herself, and sat down to try and conserve her energy

"Now the question is, what do I do with you?"

"Well as long as you're not going to go after the other three, I'm just going to sit here and bleed out, so if you want to help me, I'm not going to say no"

Ukitake chuckled

"I think I might just have to, even if your attempt failed you are trying to save a member of my division and I can't just let that go"

* * *

In the cave under the Sokyoku Hill, Layne was extremely ticked off, and with very good reason (at least to him)

"Why?" Layne asked Yoruichi, recovering faster from the clonk on his head, that Ichigo would from whatever drug she had used to incapacitate him "Why us? Moll was down and Rukia was who we came to save, we had the best chance of winning"

"Don't overestimate yourself, you and Ichigo would of both died"

"Better me than Moll and possibly Rukia"

"It was impossible for me to outrun Byakuya while carrying two of you, so people had to stay behind"

"Why couldn't the people staying behind be Ichigo and Me then?"

"Because… Rukia had no power to come save the two of you, and Moll will never be able to surpass a captain and achieve Bankai"

"Bankai?"

"I'll explain when Ichigo wakes up"

Once Ichigo had woken up and raged at Yoruichi, then calmed down, they got started

Yoruichi sent Layne off to do his own training while she worked with Ichigo

"Before we being Ichigo, have you noticed that Zangetsu is always released?"

"It is? Well I noticed that it's a lot bigger and shaped differently to other zanpakuto's, and it doesn't change shape when I call it's name, like Layne's down"

"Heh, do you didn't know after all, well, then I bet you also don't know that there is a second level of release for Zangetsu"

"What?"

"Not just Zangetsu, but Layne's Roxas, Moll's Sora and all other zanpakuto have two level's, the first is called Shikai, and the second is called Bankai"

"Bankai" Ichigo repeated

"You need to be able to do both releases to be a captain, so pretty much all the Captain's can do Bankai, except for one… Zaraki Kenpachi

Ichigo shuddered at the memory of his fight with Kenpachi

"The power of Bankai is dependent on the user's strength and training, but generally, It increases your power level anywhere between five to ten times"

"Holy shit"

"Pretty crazy isn't it, unfortunately from Shikai to Bankai, even the strongest people need ten years to master it"

"Oi oi, I only have-"

"I know, I'm going to use a different method for you and Layne, and you'll both learn the Bankai in the three days we have left"

Ichigo nodded, and unsheathed his zanpakuto

"What are we waiting for then?"

* * *

The next day both Ichigo and Layne were immersed in Bankai training, Yoruichi had only one doll to materialize the Zanpakuto spirit and so Layne had to materialize Roxas himself, which was actually easier than it normally would of took since Roxas had been glad to escape Layne's inner world for a while, claiming that it was still, freakin cold, even though there was no ice left from Itegumo

In stark contrast to the field of swords Zangetsu had summoned, there was nothing special around Roxas and Layne, just Roxas holding Oathkeeper, Layne with Oblivion and looking like he'd been savaged by a bear

"You won't be able to get Bankai like that Layne" Roxas taunted, "And I'm beginning to see how you lucked out fighting Joel, It seems that you can only take on the weaklings, like that Anita chick on the bridge"

"Harsh words from the one who my power's come from" Layne shot back

"It just means you're not using me properly"

"Then teach, me" Layne growled through gritted teeth, starting to rush at Roxas "If I'm nothing without your help teach me so I can become strong"

Roxas flipped over Layne, easily dodging the charge, Layne swung Oblivion behind him and shouted "Let me use your power Roxas, rather than hiding behind the excuse that your still frozen by some shitty ice zanpakuto, tell me what I'm doing wrong, If I can't win, then you should just run me through now!"

Before Roxas could reply an explosion blew up some of the rocks near the entrance, and Renji and Joel stepped through the billowing smoke

"Jeez, I didn't think that we'd find you here" Joel commented lazily

"Idiot, I told you I felt their reiatsu's" Renji replied

"I must have been ignoring you"

"Bastard"

"Joel" Layne snarled, beginning to move towards them

"Hey now, Layne" Joel gulped "I…i..i didn't mean it" he stammered quickly as Layne walked towards him, looking angry as all hell

Ichigo stopped his training and grinned at the sight, "This could get messy"

He watched as Layne stabbed Oblivion into the ground

Joel literally flew, at least six metres before hitting the ground and rolling to a stop another four metres later, and he lay unmoving, and unwilling to get up and make himself the target for another punch like that

"Now that that's over with, what the hell do you two want?" Layne asked

"We don't have much time left, so we need a place to finish our training"

"What do you mean you don't have time" Ichigo shouted

"…Rukia's execution date has been changed again, the new time is…Noon tomorrow and they are also executing one of your other friends, for supposedly stealing the powers of a Shinigami"

Layne immediately turned away from Renji and yanked Oblivion out of the ground

"Train out of our way"

Renji nodded and moved off

"It can't possibly be enough time to reach Bankai by then" Yoruichi said in anguish

"Shut up, don't go giving up on your plan so fast, If the execution is at noon tomorrow, then all we have to do is be done by noon tomorrow, right Layne"

"Riptide Strike: Surge!" was the reply he got as Layne unlocked a new move that he had be struggling with just seconds beforehand "I'll be damned if I get held back by a little think like time Ichigo"

* * *

**a/n - Woo! It's finally done, without a doubt the chapter that has definately taken me the longest time to squeeze out, i promise i'll be writing faster once i finish the SS arc and get into a story of my own =D**

**PLZ Press Shiny Green button at bottom of page and tell me what you think of me, my writing, this story, this chapter, hell even this sentence**

**(it's not chance on use of Jem'hadar ambush, it's perfectly safe i swear)  
**


	11. Chapter 11: Fire and Earth

**a/n - Holy crap, i've been neglecting the story so much recently, i'm sooo sorry to people that actually read and enjoy this, i've just had a bunch of crap going on real life and i havn't been dedicating as much time as i should to the story, cheers for sticking with it though, i promise the next chapter will take nowhere near as long**

* * *

Uryuu and Chad watched Moll sleep on the bed of the cell the three of them shared,

Both of them had gigantic expressions of shock on their faces

The reason?

Moll's snores sounded like a jet engine

"Is she supposed to sound like that?" Uryuu wondered out loud

Chad shrugged

Then they realized it wasn't Moll's snoring, but the sounds were coming from outside

The rumbling reached a climax and the roof literally exploded as something burst through it, showering Chad, Uryuu and a now awoken Moll with dust

When the cloud cleared the trio was surprised to see a Shinigami captain standing there, looking scary as all hell,

They stared at each other for a moment, until a auburn covered head poked up over Kenpachi's shoulder

"Ishida-kun! Sado-Kun, Rone-san!"

"ORIHIME?!!" The three shouted in surprised unison

* * *

"Well, we're off" Renji said, as he and Joel finished bandaging themselves

"Yeah" Ichigo replied, not looking in their direction at all

He was messed up, blood was streaming from dozens of open wounds, and his face and clothes were caked with dried blood

Ichigo leapt back into training and Renji turned to Yoruichi

"Yoruichi-san… do you think he can make it?"

"Who knows"

"Oi!"

"Do you remember when you first learned to walk?"

"How in hell would I remember something like that?" Renji asked angrily

"If you don't remember it, how can you still walk?" she asked flatly

"…"

"People are born with the ability to walk, birds can fly and fish can swim, it's called instinct, and because they instinctively know that they are able to do it, they don't think twice about trying it"

"…"

"The look on Ichigo's face reminds me of instinct, and thus I believe that he will acquire Bankai"

"A simple yes would have sufficed" Joel replied blankly

She kicked him

* * *

And so Renji dragged a semi conscious Joel out of the cave with him,

After Renji had been walking for a bit Joel seemed to regain full control of his facilities

"Oi Renji"

"How long have you been conscious?"

"A while…why?"

"…"

"Anyway, I figure I should go find the rest of the Ryoka, we may need to make a quick escape with everyone intact"

"That's a good idea"

"Catchya then"

* * *

Joel tracked one of the Ryoka's reiatsu's to a demolished corridor

He looked around in surprise "What the shit happened here?"

The place was messed up, there was some gross purple gas cloud in the air and the bricks looked liked they'd been ripped out of existence

The reiatsu trail felt like it ended a few metres away, so either the Ryoka was slowly making it away, or Joel would find his corpse.

He sincerely hoped for the former

Deciding to walk because he didn't want to waste the energy required for a flashstep since the area he was going to was so close anyway

Good thing he did, or he would have missed Nemu lying against a wall in obvious pain

"Nemu!"

He rushed over to her, and she smiled weakly as she recognized him

"What the hell happened here?" he asked here, slowly picking her up and piggybacking her

"Mayuri-sama, and a Ryoka"

Joel grimaced

"Who won?"

"Neither, Mayuri-sama was forced to liquefy himself and retreat, and the Ryoka's final technique very likely caused him to lose his control over reishi"

"He won't be very much help then" Joel cursed

"Can you walk" he asked her, after thinking for a while

Nemu shook her head

"Aight"

Joel scooped Nemu up and piggybacked her

"I'm going against Soul Society here, Nemu, I'll drop you off back at 12th's headquarters"

"No" she said flatly

"What?"

"I would prefer to stay with you"

"Oh…ok then"

Joel focused on another unfamiliar reiatsu and headed in that direction

* * *

He came upon all of them, Captain Kenpachi, Ikkaku, Yumichika, Orihime, Chad, Uryuu and Moll all headed towards the centre of the Seireitei

"Oi!" he shouted after them

The group stopped and turned around, Uryuu and Orihime flinching at the sight of Nemu on his back

Moll's face crossed from angry, the sad, to angry again and finally settled for a neutral that Layne would have been proud of

"Uhh Captain Kenpachi, why are you headed this way?, The Sokyoku Hill is in the other direction"

"See I told you this is what happens when we let the Lieutenant… AKK"

Yachiru attached herself to Ikkaku's head and he shut up

"Why should we listen to you?" Kenpachi asked

"Ichigo and Layne are headed to the Sokyoku Hill to stop the execution"

Kenpachi started running and everyone moved to follow him

"Hold on" Joel quickly said, catching Orihime's arm

"I hear you have the power to heal, can you help Nemu out?"

He set Nemu down and Orihime began to heal her

Moll approached him

"Sup" he greeted

She gave him a bone shattering slap, and the four of them didn't move on until Orihime had healed his cheek

"That's for making me cry"

* * *

"Another dead end?!" Moll exclaimed

"It's quite normal to run into a dead end every five minutes" Orihime said cheerfully,

"It was with Yachiru leading, but we switched guides" Moll replied suspisciously

Joel started sweating profusely at this

"Could it be, Joel" she began, giving him a piercing stare "That your directional sense is worse than Kenpachi's and Yachiru's?"

"It's possible" he admitted

"Captain" Ikkaku suddenly said

"Yeah, I sense them too" Kenpachi growled

Kenpachi spat, "Come out cowards, hiding your reiatsu's and stalking isn't something captains should do"

Six figures appeared in front of them, Captains Tousen and Komamura, Lieutenants Hisagi and Iba and two other that Joel and Moll seemed to recognize

"Do you know what exactly it is you do, Zaraki? Taking the Ryoka… was your brain so addled in the fight you lost?" Captain Tousen said

"Christ" Joel muttered

"What are you talking about?" Moll asked, "We got numerical superiority"

"…"

"And if your talking about those two, I knew at least one of them was here"

"Thats exactly what i was talking about!"

"Good, then don't tell me, cause I already knew"

Joel growled and returned his attention to the people in front of them

"Six of you?" Kenpachi scoffed "That won't even be enough to test my sword arm with"

"Ken-chaaaan, we'll keep going and look for Ichi" Yachiru announced "Come on, Big Booby, Mr Pencil, Big Bear, Bluey and Molly, Baldy, and Peacock Brow"

Everyone except Kenpachi bailed

"Six on one you say" Captain Komamura repeated "I know of your strength, but you are far too arrogant"

"I believe, you have not only lost your pride, but apparently your common sense too, Zaraki"

"Chh" Kenpachi spat, "I don't recall ever having a worthless thing like common sense"

"Captain" Hisagi said as He, Iba and the two third seats walked forwards "Please let us go first"

"I knew you lot looked down on me" Kenpachi growled

"In that case, I guess we just have to go first for our side, right Captain?" Ikkaku said slyly, appearing from nowhere with, Joel, Yumichika and Moll behind him

"A third seat, a fifth seat, a lieutenant, and a ryoka against two lieutenants and two third seats?" Iba scoffed "It seems that your mouth has got even louder, Ikkaku"

"Talk later, I don't want to get chopped up by my captain"

Ikkaku and Iba flashstepped off

"I agree, do you mind if we move to a more beautiful location" Yumichika asked lazily

"It doesn't really matter" Hisagi replied as he and Yumichika both flashstepped off

Leaving Joel, Moll, Kenpachi, The two third seats and Captain's Tousen and Komamura

"You're in the way, Move!" Kenpachi complained

"Why'd you turn around and come back Joel" Moll muttered to him "You should go ahead and help Layne, all the strongest guys are where he'll be"

Joel flashed her a small smile "Layne is far too strong to need my help"

* * *

He flashstepped a large distance away, to where he felt there would be no interruptions to his fight, and sensed the reiatsu of the one who had followed him

"Long time, no see, Little Bro" Jed mocked, swinging his massive zanpakuto over his shoulder

"How's that bitch, you banged her yet?" he continued blithely,

"Let's cut the shit" Joel shot back "I don't care why or how, but you and that damned bitch Anita are here, and in my way, You have a habit of turning up wherever I need you least"

Jed chuckled, "Just taking care of my stupid little brother, y'know?"

Joel rolled up the sleeve of his Shihakusho to reveal some ugly scars

"And mum always believed you until I showed her these" he said hatefully

Jed twitched at the memory "Best way to discipline is through physical pain"

"I'll fucking give you some physical pain"

* * *

"Haiiii Ronerrr" Anita greeted Moll snidely, as if this was some playground confrontation

"Sup whore"

"Bitch"

Moll thought for a second

"You know, it doesn't matter what I call you, cause the last time I saw you, Layne had applied the ultra beatdown"

Anita growled but didn't reply

"Yeah what?"

"You shouldn't count on Layne to save you now,"

"Why would I? Rise Inside, Sora!"

"Pulling out the Shikai so early? Very well, Make her fear the darkness, Kagetsuki!"

* * *

Joel and Jed sprang apart, breathing heavily from the repeated clashes

"I don't like this Joel at all, what happened to the little bitch with no self esteem, who apologized for everything even though he got angry all the time... I really preferred him" Jed taunted

"You would, though you were always the type that had to make himself be known, and take credit for everything, so it was pretty simple to push off most of the actual shit I did onto you"

They jumped back together and exchanged blows for a few more seconds than leapt backwards as Joel landed a small scratch on Jed's face

"FINALLY!"

"Whoa, calm the farm, its a fight, I'm supposed to try and hurt you"

"This is getting real nice Joel, don't you feel the air heating up because of the simple reasons we have for fighting each other?"

"You're in the way, that's all the reason I need"

"Don't give me that, if your only doing this for some fucked up reason like Duty, or Honor then your going to die here, cause I, honest to whatever serves as a diety for this place, want to kill you, and smear your blood from here to that test freak of Kurotsuchi's"

"What's Nemu got to do with this?"

"She's obsessesed with you dumbass, insofar as an emotionless freak like her is capable of feeling lust"

Joel flashstepped behind Jed and sliced up his arm, making Jed's shihakusho sleeveless and drawing blood

"Your right, you are going to die here so you don't insult my friends ever again!"

"Thats more like it! Demolish!, Feure Tyrann!" Joel shouted, and his oversized katana morphed into a type of spear that Joel recognized from his ancient history classes, A Guan Dao, a Chinese spear that had a point, blade and bladecatcher all in one

"You always were more obsessed with size, than substance" Joel remarked

A pillar of flame appeared next to Joel, surprising him and burning his arm before he could move away

"Jeez, a fire type, wish Layne was here, but I suppose that Riku will have a similar effect" Joel quickly said, as he dodged more pillars of fire

"Layne this, Layne that, why don't you fucking get it!? He's not going to save you!" Jed shouted, thrusting his zanpakuto at Joel

Joel grinned as he brought Riku around to deflect the clumsy strike "He doesn't need it, Make your Choice! Riku!"

* * *

Up on the Sokyoku Hill the procession leading Rukia had finally reached the Sokyoku platform,

Soifon looked around in disdain "The attendance is horrible," She thought to herself, "Only the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 8th are here, I didn't expect the 5th, 11th or 12th, but what are all the others doing?"

She caught some movement out of the corner of her eye and turned to see Byakuya Kuchiki making his way towards the stand

The Captain-Commander's cane striking the hard surface of the stand brought her attention back to Rukia

"Rukia Kuchiki, do you have any last words?" The captain-commander spoke slowly, his gruff voice making his words hard to hear

"There is one thing" Rukia replied, here serene expression and calm words a stark contrast to the turmoil going on inside her heart

"Could you, send all the Ryoka back to where they came from and forgive anyone who aided them...because they foolishly thought I was worth saving, and their lives are worth more than mine"

"As you request" Yamamoto replied

"How cruel," Isane whispered to Unohana, "He says such things even though he had no intention of fulfilling it"

"It is not cruelty" Unohana replied, "Her death is unavoidable and it is far better to die with her heart set at ease"

"Release the seal" Yamamoto ordered, and three cubes rose up and lifted Rukia into the air,

"Hearing that Ichigo and the others will all be sent back home after all this is done has set my heart at ease again" Rukia thought with a hint of relief

The great Sokyoku spear became ungulfed in flame, and started shifting shape, into a blazing phoenix that stared at Rukia maliciously

* * *

"Whats the matter Joel!" Jed cried out as another of his flame pillar's missed "You're just running like a little bitch, Stand still so I can hit you!"

"Shit" Joel thought to himself as he ducked and more fire passed harmlessly over his head "Magnetize won't stop the fire... I could use my Bankai, but I shouldn't have to, he's a third seat and I refuse to simple win through superior force, that makes me no better than he is"

While he was thinking Jed flashstepped in frost and thrust Feure Tyrann forward, in an attempt to impale Joel as he ran

"If you don't stay focused on the fight Joel, you aren't even going to scratch me"

Joel grinned; this was an opening, one that could be exploited

"Magnetize!"

Using the reiatsu shield he formed on his Left arm, he bounced Jed's Feure Tyrann away and leapt forwards

"It's over!"

"Earth's Power: Formation!"

Joel leapt up into the air and somersaulted forwards, a tail of rock and dirt following the arc of his sword

"See ya" Joel quipped as the entire tail, crushed Jed, smothering his fire completely

Joel landed smoothly and started walking towards the Sokyoku Hill when he felt an unnatural reiatsu rise behind him

"What the?"

He turned quickly to see Jed picking himself out of the earth, looking pretty beaten up, with his clothes in ruins and bleeding heavily

"Haah, congrats Joel, I didn't think I was going to need to use this"

"Need to use what..."

Jed retrieved Fuere Tyrann and stuck into into the mound of earth, while holding onto it

"I hope your prepared to die Joel, cause the last thing you are going to feel is the engulfing flames of my zanpakuto"

Joel brought the Soul Eater up in a defensive stance, seemingly prepared for whatever could come

But he wasn't prepared for what was happening

Jed's raw energy was tearing chunks off the walls and slowly digging a crater into the ground

"You ready for this? Joel?"

"Bring it"

Jed picked up Feure Tyrann and started spinning it around

"Bankai!"

An explosion of raw reiatsu blasted Joel away into one of the still intact walls, and as he picked himself up he tried to catch a glimpse of Jed's power but the smoke was too thick

The smoke cleared and Jed stood there, the single Guan Dao having been replaced by two, that were roughly half the size of the original, one in each hand, and both were on fire

"Tobend Feure Tyrann"

"So this is a Bankai" Joel mused, even though he had one of his own, it was nowhere near as flashy as Jeds.

Intense heat seared Joel's face as he moved his head back to avoid a cheap shot from Jed

"Thats freakin hot" Joel complained

"My Bankai might actually be too hot," Jed said regretfully "When it makes contact it instantly cauterizes the wounds"

"Heh, so any hit you make seals instantly, thats a point in my favour"

Jed ran the blade of one of his guan dao's across some of the open wounds he sustained in Joel's attack, instantly sealing them

"So far all you've done is stopped your bleeding, and turned up the temperature, is this really the best you've got" Joel taunted, attempting to elicit an angered reaction

"Shut. The. Fuck. Up. And. Just. Die." Jed replied through gritted teeth, and with more exuberance he shouted "First Hit! Blaze!"

A stream of fire moved along the ground towards Joel and he sidestepped it

"Second Hit!, Inferno" Fire surrounded Joel, rendering him unable to move, for fear of burning himself, and the fire from the first hit turned around and started heading towards the fire cage

"Third Hit, Incinerate!"

Flames began spewing forth from the tips of Jed's Guan Dao's aimed directly at the cage of fire that Joel was trapped in

"Burn you bastard!" Jed shouted

Jed kept up the stream of fire until he was quite sure that the only thing left of Joel would be charred remains

"Too hot for you Joel?" Jed said mockingly, as the fire cage dissipated

The rocks that Joel had summoned around him retracted back into the ground

"That was really close, good thing I still had this up my sleeve," Joel mused to himself

"How in hell did you survive that!" Jed wanted to know

Joel turned and looked directly at him and it was then that Jed noticed how Joel's appearance had changed

He was now wearing a blindfold, made of black cloth and the zanpakuto had gone from the Soul Eater, to something else entirely

It still retained the basic look of the Soul Eater, though the back of the blade was now straight and had a small white wing protruding from the back near the tip, the handle now had a circular guard and overall Jed thought it resembled one of Layne's keyblades in shape more than Joel's Shikai

"Looks cool doesn't it," Joel asked, noticing Jed's gaze

"I forgot to mention it, but this is my Bankai" Joel continued

"What?"

"Riku's Path: Way to the Dawn"

"Impossible"

"Can't be, your staring at it"

"No!

Jed was raging pretty hard

"I fuckin refuse to accept, that you can have the same kind of power as me!" he shouted

Joel shrugged "Then don't, just accept that my power is greater than yours"

"Earth's Power, Quake!"

Joel slammed Way to the Dawn into the ground and stared at the hilt, seemingly focused

"What the fuck is this" Jed snarled "All you can do with your Bankai is stick holes in the ground?"

Joel grinned, "This is finished"

Rocky spikes shot out of the ground, impaling Jed in several places

"The earth has a ton of surprises, doesn't it?" Joel said bitterly "It's like how the Lieutenant of 13th doesn't even know his older brother is 3rd seat of 7th until said brother tries to kill him, though I'm not going to let that secret take me out"

"You should survive this before you say that" a new voice said behind him

Joel blanched, another fight?, so soon?

"Mutilate, Plagado"

Joel didn't know what hit him

Kieran made sure to step on Joel as he walked over him

"I wasn't expecting you to possess Bankai, but you went down easily enough anyway"

Kieran picked Jed up, and after a moment's thought, picked up Joel too and flashstepped off.

* * *

**a/n - Once again, cheers to all the people that actually read this story, your guys are legends (even more legendary if you review *wink wink, nudge nudge*)**

**Tobend Feure Tyrann - German, translates roughly to Raging Fire Tyrant**

**Plagado is Spanish for Plagued, **

**soooo... i quit wow, to focus on my HSC studies so i can win at life =D**

**annnd, i've got a significant chunk of material written out and completed, just needs to be typed up**

**this arc should be finished in 1 - 2 more chapters, maybe 3 if i extend my quality heaps XD**

**and i worked out what a "Mary Sue" was, then i freaked out cause i thought Layne was a mary sue so i ran it through a litmus test and somehow scraped through into the non mary sue section, but the entire experience has made me wanted to write up the backstories for Moll, Joel, Layne, Jed, Kieran and Anita, but that will be a seperate work, or maybe in a rewrite of this**

**do keep in mind its my first fanfiction when your reviewing please, though i think the quality of writing in this chapter is much improved from the first chapter XD**


	12. Chapter 12: Dearly Beloved

**a/n - How's that for a fast update, i breezed through this chapter, hopefully improved the quality of my fight scene sections (they are a bitch to write .)**

* * *

The giant phoenix glared maliciously at Rukia, and she stared serenely back, as if daring the phoenix to strike her

The phoenix reared back and as it screeched Rukia thought of her life so far

"I'm not afraid of this, I've led a good life… meeting Renji and the others, my adoption by Nii-sama, being assigned to the 13th division…and… Ichigo's attempted rescue"

Images of the people she cared about flew through her mind and she closed her eyes

"No pain" and Renji's face flashed

"No sadness", Ukitake and Kaien, on the night she killed him

"No regrets", Orihime, Ishida and Chad

"Nothing that anchors my heart to this world" Ichigo and Byakuya

"I can accept this"

Opening her eyes she looked at the Sokyoku phoenix, speeding directly towards her

She heard a flashstep, felt a familiar reiatsu near her, and the Sokyoku screeched and reared back as if it had been denied something

Rukia didn't dare to believe…but it was

"Ichigo…" she whispered

"Yo" he replied

"You…you IDIOT!" she screeched

"Wh…what?" he stammered

"Why did you comeback!, I'm fine with this, and you can't win against my brother!"

As Rukia and Ichigo argued the captains down below struggled to accept the sight in front of their eyes

"The Sokyoku, with the power of One million zanpakuto, stopped by one man's single zanpakuto" Soifon, whispered in awe "Who is this man?"

"Nanao-chan, Is that one of the Ryoka?" Kyoraku asked, not taking his eyes off Ichigo

"Yes… he fits the description" she replied, sounding slightly uneasy

"Then, the one who made it in time…was an outsider" Kyoraku murmured

"What the?" Ichigo exclaimed as the Sokyoku slammed into Zangetsu, holstered on Ichigo's back, yet again

"Dammit Ichigo" Layne scolded as he appeared on one top of one of the execution pillars "You wasted too much time"

"Shut Up" Ichigo replied, as the Sokyoku made space for another attack

Layne raised an eyebrow as Ichigo tightened his stance "You can't seriously be thinking of taking another attack from that thing"

Rukia caught the thread of the conversation "Ichigo! You won't survive another hit" she shouted at him

"You talk too much!" he replied, with a hint of irritation

"Maybe" Layne cut in, then jumped up and kicked Ichigo out of the way "But I'm inclined to agree with her"

"Bastard"

"Let me take this one" Layne said quietly, unsheathing both of his zanpakuto

"Drift! Roxas!"

Oathkeeper and Oblivion appeared in his hands as the Sokyoku screeched its challenge

"So, the fire bird flies into a lake and fizzles out," Layne mused "No one is going to believe that"

The Sokyoku charged forwards, but before it could reach Layne some ropes wrapped around it's neck and it reared back

"What the?" Layne asked as he looked down and instantly spotted the source of the ropes

One of the captains from the bridge had placed some shield looking thing on the ground and the ropes extended from it

"It looks like an overload unit" Layne assessed "Why would a Captain have an overload unit?"

Then he recalled Yoruichi explained why Moll would be alright

"It's Rukia's Captain" he murmured to himself, "It makes perfect sense for him to want to stop this execution"

Layne grinned as he saw the uproar that Ukitake's appearance had made

"Chance!"

Layne flashstepped down to that strange object and drew attention away from Ukitake and the weird captain that was wearing a pink kimono draped over his white haori

"How does this work?" he asked them

"Stick your zanpakuto into it" Ukitake muttered out of the corner of his mouth "It requires two zanpakuto though"

"Not a problem"

Layne stabbed the Oblivion and Oathkeeper straight into the shield and his power ran straight up the rope things and into the Sokyoku which imploded, causing small bits of fire to rain from the sky

Layne removed his zanpakuto and flashstepped back onto the top of the execution stand

"How's that?"

"Nice, now watch out, cause I'm going to get Rukia out of this thing"

Ichigo began spinning Zangetsu around by the ribbon that extended by the hilt

"Just a thought," Layne pointed out "This stand was probably built to withstand the impact of that bird"

"That's good, you destroy the bird, I'll destroy the thing that can withstand the bird, it's another way of proving I'm stronger than you" Ichigo replied, a vein pulsing in his head as he turned towards Layne, still spinning Zangetsu around

"You don't have to make everything into a competition" Layne sighed

"You talk too much"

Ichigo stopped spinning Zangetsu, grabbed the handle, and stabbed it straight into the stand

The crosspiece connecting the pillars split from the two uprights and shot straight towards the ground, where it shattered on impact

"See" Ichigo said to Rukia "I told you that it was going to be alright"

Ichigo had Rukia under his arm and Zangetsu over his shoulder, as he stood on the pillar that Layne wasn't crouching on

"You dummy" Rukia replied slowly "I'm not going to thank you for this"

"Whatever"

"But…what are you planning to do next?

"Run"

"Sounds good to me" Layne called over

"But those are captains down there!" Rukia exclaimed

"So? This is just about you anymore, Orihime, Uryuu, Chad, Yoruichi, and Moll…I'm going to go get everyone who's helped me and get out of here"

Sounds of fighting filtered up from below and Ichigo and Layne turned around to see what was going on

Renji had arrived, and he looked pretty beat up from last time Ichigo had seen him

"Renji!" Rukia shouted in happiness, elated that he was still alive

"Rukia!" Renji shouted back

Ichigo lifted Rukia up and held her above his head

"Renji!... CATCH!"

With that he tossed Rukia straight towards Renji

She screamed on the way down and Renji shouted "YOU DUMBASS" at Ichigo

Renji caught her…just and they both started screaming insults at Ichigo

"What are you doing!" Ichigo shouted back "Get Rukia out of here! Your job Is to carry her to safety! Do not let go of her! Even if you die!"

Renji came to his senses, nodded and sped off, Rukia in his arms

Below, Soifon watched the scene with rising anger "What are you doing idiots! All lieutenants chase down Renji Abarai!"

Each Lieutenant shot their respective Captain a look and all got their affirmation, so The fat one, the skinny old one, and Isane started chasing after Renji

"Layne" Ichigo muttered

"Got it"

Layne flashstepped in front of the Lieutenants pursuing Renji, and stuck Oathkeeper and Oblivion into the ground behind him

"Getting in our way eh!" The obese one yelled fatuously "Crush him! Gegetsuburi"

The old one pointed his zanpakuto at Layne and called out to it "Bite! Gonryumaru"

Isane hesitated, but Layne flashed her a look that said "Play along" and she called out Itegumo

Layne started to analyse the two new zanpakuto releases, One gigantic mace on a chain, and a rapier

"Fuck it"

The fat guy moved forwards and Layne simply punched through his zanpakuto with his hollowfied hand, shattering the zanpakuto and knocking the guy out

The old guy appeared behind Layne and attempted to slice him as his back was turned, but Layne grabbed the zanpakuto and flipped the old guy straight to the ground, where he lay unmoving

Now it was just Isane

"Come at me" Layne whispered, not wanting to get her in trouble for disobeying orders

She hesitated another moment and then charged at him

Layne grabbed Itegumo, and gently laid her on the ground, having pretended to knock her out, "Thanks for your help" he whisperered in her ear

Isane played dead, but she couldn't help but be a little afraid of Layne, he had taken out two lieutenants with his bare hands… and his reiatsu felt more…jagged than it had before

Layne called Oathkeeper and Oblivion towards him and turned to walk towards the execution platform when he heard a clash of metal on metal behind him, where Ichigo had intercepted Byakuya

The two flashstepped off after exchanging some words

"Oh great" Layne said sarcastically, seemingly to no one "So you leave me to fight two captain's by myself"

He turned towards the remaining Captain's, Out of the five of them, he was definitely sure that Unohana was on his side, and he was pretty sure that Ukitake, and the Pink Kimono guy were as well, so that left the Ancient Guy, and the Small woman

Layne decided to try take on the Ancient Guy first, he looked the least threatening

"Ready Roxas?"

"Don't do anything too stupid Layne"

Layne launched himself at the stand but before he could reach it, the Ancient Guy , Ukitake, and the Pink Kimono guy flashstepped away

Unohana was making her way over to the injured Lieutenants, leaving only the small captain at the stand

"Guess you're the only one left then" Layne called across to her

"Hmph, You are obviously strong Ryoka," she replied calmly "But do not think that you can defeat a captain so easily"

An orange blur shot past Layne and tackled the captain off the hill

Layne knew it was Yoruichi, but he could of sworn he felt her reiatsu winking at him

Now it was just Layne, and the Pink Kimono guys Lieutenant on that half of the hill

"Sooo… mind explaining why your helping us?" Layne said offhandedly, sticking Oblivion into the ground and leaning on it, and resting Oathkeeper over his shoulder

The lieutenant pushed in her glasses before replying

"Captain Ukitake is Rukia's superior, and Captain Kyoraku…my captain, is Captain Ukitake's best friend"

"And just who are you?"

"Lieutenant Nanao Ise, of 8th Division"

"Awesome" Layne replied "Now what am I supposed to do?"

"You could commit suicide…that would make this much easier for me" A voice spoke, and Layne immediately recognized it

"I suggest you get out of the area Miss Ise" Layne warned

Nanao didn't need to be told twice

"Show yourself" Layne called out "I know who you are"

"Oh my" The voice called again "What ever happened to the emotionless Layne?"

Layne stood still, refusing to be baited

"That's more like it"

Kieran appeared from nowhere, with the unconscious forms of Joel and Moll on one shoulder, and Anita and Jed on the other

"I was disappointed with my friends" Kieran said calmly, "They lost to yours"

"Of course, It's totally inconceivable that Joel and Moll would lose to anyone"

"They lost to me"

"And I'm surprised you didn't kill them"

"I think it would be more painful for them to see you die, and then I kill them"

"You have to kill me first" Layne challenged, consciously raising his reiatsu so the ground around him cracked

"I have to say though" Kieran said, rubbing the back of his head with his hand "I wasn't expecting so many captain's in the Gotei 13 to turn out to be traitors"

"Like you can talk" Layne shot back "Anita's zanpakuto's powers required betraying comrades or murdering innocents… and I know you and Jed, and I refuse to believe that you'd lend your strength to any authority, anywhere"

"Is it that obvious?"

"You have no idea"

"Well, either way it suits me to have you dead, and not just because I hate you"

"Talk is cheap"

"Around me, lives are cheaper, Mutilate!, Plagado!"

Kieran's simple zanpakuto changed from the form of a Katana, to what looked like a large two-handed hammer, with a shattered head, leaking some gross liquid

Layne made a face as he watched it drip onto the ground

"Let's go, Plagado!" Kieran shouted as he lunged forwards, thrusting the hammer forwards

Layne crossed Oathkeeper and Oblivion in front of him and absorbed the blow, twisting slightly so Kieran became overbalanced and stumbled forwards, and using the opening Layne brought his knee up to catch Kieran's ribs, which caused Kieran to lose his breath and fall forwards, recovering just enough to somersault and stand up, breathing heavily and clutching his stomach

"Stop fucking around" Layne said calmly, not taking his eyes off Kieran "If this is your true strength, then all you're doing is wasting my time"

"Fuck…You" Kieran wheezed as he started to regain control over his breathing "This time, we'll try something different…Plagado!"

Kieran dripped some of the…stuff onto his left hand, which started to bubble, and mutate, growing thicker, the fingers becoming bladed and spikes protruding from the knuckles

The entire scene made Layne want to vomit

Kieran began twirling Plagado around in his right hand, as he flexed the blades on his left

"Scared yet?"

"You wish" Layne replied, edging his foot forward

Layne kicked off the ground, moving towards Kieran at a frightening speed, who attempted to push Layne back by thrusting Plagado into his chest, Layne dodged it and attempted to connect Oathkeeper with Kieran's face but Kieran caught it with his bladed hand and swung Layne to the other side of him, where he would of crushed Layne if Layne hadn't brought Oblivion up and blocked Plagado, The impact of Plagado hitting Oblivion cause some of the stuff to fall out and land on the sleeve of Layne's shihakusho and right hand

Kieran kicked Layne in the stomach as he was distracted by the slime and scratched his arm with the bladed fingers, then jumped back, grinning in triumph

"Win!" he gloated "Does that satisfy your urge for power?

Layne coughed as he picked himself up "Better, this is closer to what I expected from you when I caught sight of Anita on the bridge"

Layne inspected the holes the sludge had melted through his shihakusho

"How do you fight with that stuff?" Layne asked, mildly nauseated by the smell

"I can't smell remember? Something about a bone fragment lodged in my olfactory bulb"

"Guess I set myself up for this then"

"Layne"

"How come you still have a hand?"

Layne extended his hollowfied right hand holding Oblivion

"I dunno, I guess your reiatsu couldn't burn through the reiatsu that this hand releases subconsciously"

"Why did that happen Roxas?" Layne questioned "If it couldn't melt through the hand it would of slipped off and melted through the ground beneath my feet, but the hand absorbed it didn't it"

"I needed a concentrated sample of reiatsu"

"What you got?"

"Disease, Plague, Everything involved with Sickness"

"I gathered that…anything I should be worried about?"

"Cleansing Water versus the Embodiment of Sickness? Wash him away"

Layne returned his attention to the real word and Kieran

"Enough talk, Lets end this"

"Whatever you want"

Layne heightened his reiatsu and fired off a Rain, which Kieran jumped over, landing closer to Layne

"Try this one on for size! Riptide Strike: Surge!"

Water expanded and surrounded Layne and he charged into Kieran with the force of a Tidal wave

"I wonder if your plague can withstand being washed away at extreme speed"

Kieran hit the ground, hard, and Layne turned around and began walking off, before he felt Kieran's reiatsu rise, to a significantly greater level than Layne's own and despite himself, Layne had shock flit across his face, partly because of the level of reiatsu being emitted and partly because of the control Kieran had to have over his own reiatsu to keep this level hidden

"I was being arrogant Layne, I thought that my mastery over Shinigami powers would be better than yours because I've been here for so long…I should of come out full power from the start and filled your corpse with so much disease that it exploded"

"You could try, but even though I don't look like it, I can't lose and let Ichigo, Moll, Chad, Uryuu, Orihime and Joel down"

"That's just too damn bad"

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean I'm going to lose"

"Say that after you see this"

Kieran slammed his hammer into the ground, creating a sphere that looked like it was making the air wither and die

"BANKAI!"

Layne reflexively crossed Oathkeeper and Oblivion in front of him to block the chunks of ground that Kieran's release tore up and threw outwards

Something moved behind Layne and he didn't have enough time to react as something blunt crashed into the side of his chest and crushed his ribcage

Layne went flying and rolled along the floor, coughing up and spitting out a couple of mouthfuls of blood

"How d'you like that?"

Kieran appeared in front of Layne, holding his Bankai over his shoulder

"Plagado de Putrefacción"

The mace had enlarged in size, and grown several spikes that resembled bonespurs, but that was what started causing Layne to choke on his own vomit

Layne's feet had become furry, and grown large pustules, which looked like they were about to burst, and the vomit was a side effect of the plague spreading through his bloodstream

Layne stood up, his resilience alarming for someone with four crushed ribs, feet that weren't even his own anymore and some unknown plague ravaging his insides

"While gross, you're going to have to do better than that to kill me"

"I don't need to kill you, how about I just tell you that I was the one that killed your mum?"

"Rain" Layne said coldly

Kieran dodged the green crescent with ease

"Getting angry are we?"

"You wish, Surge!"

Water enveloped Layne yet again, but with his fucked up feet, charging forward with the force of a tidal wave proved difficult and Kieran simply caught Layne and threw him to the floor

"How's this?"

Kieran slammed down on Layne with Plagado

* * *

"What the fuck?"

Layne sat up in his inner world, having been lying down on the edge of the lake

"Roxas, why the hell am I in here?, I really have more important things to be doing" Layne demanded

"He won't hear you", a familiar, and yet incredibly unfamiliar voice sounded

Layne stood up quickly and turned around

A near perfect copy of himself looked back at him, face, features…It was almost perfect except for the colouring, shades of white and grey, with green irises and a black pupils and sclera

"Who the hell are you?"

"That depends on how you want to use me"

"Excuse me?"

"I can either be your greatest ally, or your deadliest foe"

"Look, seeing my own face talk in riddles is really stupid, so just stop ok?"

"You're the boss, but before I let you go back to getting your ass kicked, let me show you a few things"

They walked over, Layne and his Carbon Copy. To the edge of the lake that had two trees sprouting from the ground, and the Carbon Copy Layne kicked some pebbles into the water

"Take a look"

Layne did so and was surprised by what he saw

Captains Ukitake and Kyoraku, looking fairly beaten up, surrounded by an overwhelming fire

The scene flashed

Yoruichi running away from the small captain she had tackled off the Sokyoku hill. Weird flower tattoos all over her clothes and face

*flash*

Unohana and Isane, walking towards a grey tower

*flash*

A ginger woman with huge breasts fighting that Lieutenant from 3rd

"What is all this?" Layne asked, a little confused

"Fights that are happening at the moment, and most of these will turn out really badly unless you stand the fuck up" The carbon copy nodded towards the lake "These one's should be more interesting"

*flash*

Renji running through the maze that was the Seireitei, Rukia in his arms

*flash*

Ichigo disappearing as he was crushed by a pillar of small pink blades

*flash*

Joel losing ground to Kieran, as Moll knelt by Layne's body, shaking it and screaming

Layne abruptly stopped watching

"I've seen enough"

* * *

**a/n - enjoy thee chapter, i liked writing it, so i hope you like reading it, and if you like reading it, seriously, drop a review, leave me some constructive criticism...my writing can only get so good if i work on it by myself you know**


	13. Chapter 13: Unlucky plus 1

**a/n - hi, me again, bringing you another chapter of this excellent (if i do say so myself) fanfiction**

* * *

"Then what now?" The pseudo-Layne asked, kicking some more pebbles into the lake and turning it blue again

"I'm going to get my ass out of here…and go save everyone" Layne said, a determined look taking over his face

Turning to leave, Layne's arm was grabbed by the copy

"You'll need this" and with that he vanished from sight

Layne looked at the arm, trying to ascertain just what he would need and he caught sight of the new markings on his hand, A large X that stretched all the way across the back and over onto the palm

As Layne vanished, Roxas walked around from behind the tree and looked at the Pseudo-Layne, sitting under the other tree

"So what did you think" Roxas asked guardedly, sitting down and looking over the water

"He's strong, but he doesn't know what to do with his strength…perfectly ripe for the picking"

The Psuedo Layne displayed a nasty grin, and Roxas sighed as he slowly faded into the Pseudo

* * *

Joel fell backwards, utterly defeated

"Pathetic," Kieran spat, "I don't even know why you two even bothered to stand up when you felt that retard die"

Moll stood up and grasped her zanpakuto, realizing she was the last person who could stop Kieran before he went off and double teamed Ichigo

Kieran smirked at her "Don't even try it bitch"

An immense reiatsu flared, toned down and the flared again, and Moll didn't dare to believe it

"So just who is dead?" Layne asked Kieran calmly, picking himself up off the ground

"I thought I could try it…but never in a million years could I defeat a Bankai only using my Shikai" Layne said regretfully

Kieran's eyes narrowed "Only? You expect me to believe that you can obtain Bankai?"

"Whether or not you believe it is up to you…."

Layne summoned Oathkeeper and Oblivion to him, and the flashed into existence in his hands

"…but can you deny the evidence that your own eyes give you?"

Layne hardened his reiatsu and literally knocked Kieran back with the force of him pushing Oblivion forwards

"Take a look, this is my…BANKAI!"

Layne's hardened reiatsu condensed and then exploded outwards, with varying impacts, To Moll behind him, the impact felt like a decent breeze, but to Kieran, it was like being hit by a brick wall that was shot out of a cannon

The reiatsu storm settled down, and Moll got a good look at Layne, standing there looking only slightly different from before

The chicken feet, and the plague inflicted by Kieran's Bankai had been eliminated and Layne looked human again

The only real difference to his normal appearance was a pair of half-finger gloves that looked like they were made out of thin glass and filled with water

"Roxas: Final Form" Layne announced

He moved at impossible speed and Kieran barely had enough time to block the opening strike

"Shit"

Kieran pushed Layne back and caught him in the side with Plagado, but the weapon just passed through Layne as his body liquefied

"What the fuck!" Kieran exclaimed, overbalancing as he wasn't expecting no resistance from the attack "What does your Bankai do!"

"You'll have to tell me, this is the first time I've used it" Layne replied with a grin,

Kieran grit his teeth and began unleashing a flurry of blows, but each time Kieran came close to landing a hit, it was either dodged, and Layne would appear behind him in some kind of overpowered flashstep, causing Kieran to go on the defensive for a bit, or Layne would turn to water and Plagado would pass harmlessly through

"You must be able to do better than this" Layne commented, sounding bored

"Plagado!" Kieran shouted, getting angry now

A stream of vile ooze flew from the mace towards Layne and caught him before he could flashstep out of the way

"I see it now!" Kieran shouted

The plague started eating at the stomach of Layne's shihakusho and Layne quickly turned to water and reformed, plague free

"Enlighten me then" Layne said cautiously, having worked it out for himself as soon as he had dodged Kieran's second strike. It was his power after all

"Bankai, the most powerful skill available from a zanpakuto." Kieran began, staying on guard in case Layne tried another overpowered flashstep

"It usually functions as an expansion of the user's reiatsu, amplifying the Shikai abilities, Or rarely, as a compression of the massive power of Bankai, increasing physical prowess…but mine, and that fucktard Joel's are the only compressions I've ever seen….but yours, yours is both…the expansion is the water, I'd have to guess that you're capable of controlling not just water you generate, but outside sources as well"

Layne raised an eyebrow at glanced at Oathkeeper, It couldn't be that powerful…could it?

"And the compression," Kieran continued "You always were fucking fast, but both your speed and killed power increased? Is there no fucking justice in this place?"

"With you on the police force I wouldn't think so"

"Well either way, know that I know your abilities…I'll just take my revenge" Kieran snarled, suddenly launching himself forwards

Plagado clattered off Oblivion as Layne parried and attempted to swipe Kieran's legs from under him, but Kieran grinned and spoke the words "Sepsis!"

"Oh f…" Layne was cut off as he was enveloped by a literal black cloud of disease, and Kieran jumped back; he wasn't entirely immune to his own attacks

"Overconfident, Layne" Kieran mocked, "Just because I said it was overpowered didn't mean I was going to just lie down and let you hit me"

The cloud dissipated and Kieran walked over to Layne's kneeling form

"Heh, you must really be at your limit, even Joel took one of those and got back up to fight"

Kieran swung Plagado down, intending to end it, when Oblivion shot up and impaled Kieran's shoulder, causing Kieran to stagger back a few steps

"_That was totally pathetic_" Layne's voice said, but not in Layne's voice "_Even in your Final Form, you go and almost get us killed_"

Layne stood up and looked directly at Kieran, who was shocked to see that, the left side of Layne's face was now covered in what looked like half a bone white mask that seemed to be steadily forming from nowhere. The mask had a deep green stripe from the corner of what looked like half an inverted trapezium, which served as an eyehole, revealing a black sclera and yellow iris

"Wh..what the fuck are you?" Kieran spat out, wrenching the black keyblade from his shoulder and tossing it aside

"The 'thing' in Layne's body summoned Oblivion to himself, and picked up Oathkeeper from the floor, sneering in contempt as he tossed it aside and replied to Kieran's question

"_What am I?... I'm nothing_" and the very words it spoke, filled Kieran with dread

Layne disappeared from Kieran's vision, and a very deep cut opened up on his back, this went on for a few more seconds, cuts opening all over Kieran's body as the thing inhabiting Layne did its work

Suddenly it stopped, right in front of Kieran and he watched as it spasmed, hearing voices, like two people arguing

"This is my fight…_What the fuck are you doing?, if you let me stay we'll win…_I won't sink to his level…_you already…_GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!"

With what looked like a titanic effort, Layne's left hand shot up and tore the mask off, letting it hit the ground where it broke, and vanished

Layne panted, cuts opening over his body that he didn't even know that he'd sustained,

"Glad …*pant* …that's… *pant*… over… *pant* …sorry" Layne managed to get out

"Why the fuck are you apologizing" Kieran growled "This is a fight to the death, and I've still got enough left to fucking kill you"

"Heh, so be it then, but neither of us can stand for much longer, so let's wrap this up quickly"

"Rot, Plagado!" Kieran began radiating all that was putrid, foul and sickening, focusing all the essence into his mace, which took on the aura of just plain death

"That's a nice trick" Layne commented "Riptide Strike: Maelstrom"

Thunder sounded, and it immediately began to rain hard, while this was happening Layne was manipulating most of the water into a shape that Kieran couldn't discern

The rain stopped as Layne completed the technique, and had tight streams of water running from the keyblades, all up his arms and across his torso like wires

"Spirit of Seas"

"Fuck off and die" Kieran snarled as he leapt forwards

"That's my line" Layne replied, moving to intercept

The blades clashed, Oathkeeper and Oblivion hitting Plagado and the resulting reiatsu explosion kicked up a storm of dust, making it impossible to determine the outcome

Coughing slightly Moll used Sora's air abilities to blow away the dust, and got a good look at the scene

Kieran and Layne stood apart from each other, facing outwards

"Chh" Kieran spat as blood erupted from his chest and back "I really, fucking hate you" he said before he collapsed

Layne fared a little better, suffering no injuries from the clash, but he fell onto one knee, looking totally spent

Moll ran towards him, and hugged him, reassuring herself that he was still alive

"It's ok Moll, I won" Layne told her, wanting to get moving, but unable to do so, with his friend currently holding onto him

"I was so afraid" Moll said, beginning to tear up "You idiot, why did you have to go and play dead twice"

Layne decided not to tell her that he hadn't actually been playing dead at all

"Look, this is fun, but I need to go help Ichigo"

Joel groaned and rolled over "Your alive Layne!" he shouted, flashstepping from his sideways position into a standing one next to Layne somehow

Layne had about enough "We need to go help Ichigo!" he half shouted, somewhat angrily

Moll and Joel backed off instantly, feeling the wave of angry reiatsu Layne emitted, even if he hadn't realized he was emitting it

"Ok then Joel, pick up this idiot and let's get going"

Joel collapsed; his elation at seeing that Layne was ok, ebbing away and the painful feeling of every single one of his injuries combined overtaking him

Moll sighed "Must I do everything around here?"

She used Sora to make Joel and Layne hover a few feet above the ground and led them along to where Ichigo was fighting Byakuya

* * *

"Senbonzakura Kageyoshi: Shukei Hakuteiken" Byakuya murmured, the white wings of the technique expanding behind him

"Amazing" Ichigo whistled softly "Sorry, but Zangetsu only taught me Getsuga Tenshou, so the best I can do is put all my strength…into this last hit"

The two charged forwards, strangely mirroring Kieran and Layne's final attacks from before

Once again a dust cloud blew, and Moll used Sora to blow it away, not saying anything as Orihime, Uryuu, Nemu and Chad moved out of their hiding spot in the trees and joined her, Joel and Layne, waiting for the outcome

Ichigo and Byakuya stood a few meters away from each other both facing outwards, and awaiting their strikes to affect each other

Blood erupted from Ichigo's shoulder and he slumped forwards, pushing Tensa Zangetsu into the ground to hold himself up

Byakuya spoke a few words to Ichigo, and then lay down on the ground, unable to summon the energy to even stand

"I…I Won!" Ichigo shouted and then "Shit…I can't stand up"

Orihime rushed to catch him, but was too slow and ended up connecting her head with the back of Ichigo's

As Ichigo clutched the back of his head in agony, Orihime wildly waved her arms and tried to apologize

Then Ichigo noticed who it was "Orihime!" he exclaim

"For someone covered in blood, your surprisingly energetic, Kurosaki" Ishida said calmly as he pushed his glasses back up his face, everyone had moved over after Orihime's initial rush and now stood around him

"Uryuu!, Chad!, Moll!... and who's that?!" Ichigo asked, catching sight of Nemu

"Everyone is unhurt, that's really good"

"What about me you bastard!" Layne complained, waving a blood covered hand behind the crowd

* * *

Renji ran along the Seireitei, heading for Jidanbo's gate so he could get out to Rukongai when he reached Tousen

"Captain Tousen…what are you doing here" Renji asked in confusion

Tousen said nothing, but produced a long cloth item and tossed it so it wrapped and covered the three of them, Tousen, Rukia and Renji

* * *

Renji coughed as the cloth unwrapped, and looked around "This is…the Sokyoku Hill" he whispered, his face reflecting the utter shock he felt.

"Greetings Abarai-kun" a voice Renji never thought he'd hear again said, completely devoid of emotion

"Cap…Captain Aizen…" Renji stammered out

"Please Abarai-kun, put down Rukia Kuchiki, and step away"

For a nanosecond Renji was tempted to do just that, and then he recalled Ichigo's words

"_Don't let go of her, even if you die_"

For a 15 year old kid, he had some powerful ideals

"What did you just say" Renji asked

"Did you not hear me? I told you to put down Rukia, and step aside"

* * *

Ichigo and the others had just made their way to the bottom of the hill, Chad piggybacking Ichigo who still had Tensa Zangetsu in a tight grip, Nemu carrying Joel, and Uryuu and Moll supporting Layne between them,

"Everything Hurts" Joel complained

"Tell me about it" Layne replied

"Bakudo 77. Tenteikuura!" Isane's voice resounded through everyone except Orihime's heads

"What the…?" Everyone except Orihime and Nemu said at once

"Bakudo 77, Tenteikuura" Nemu explained "Remain Silent, a message will come through soon"

"This is Isane Kotetsu, Lieutenant of the 4th division…please listen carefully, everything I am about to say is entirely true"

They all listened

Layne's and Uryuu expressions grew steadily darker as the message progressed on, and when Ichigo asked "What was that all about?" They shot him a look as if to say, "Are you an Idiot?"

"How come I didn't hear anything?" Orihime asked

"The message came from 4th division; you never came into contact with them" Chad explained

"But why would they tell us that?" Ichigo asked the group again "Isn't a captain killing captain their problem"

"They told us, because we needed to know" Layne said heavily

"Huh?"

"Don't you see Kurosaki" Uryuu started explaining "This Aizen, murdered the Central 46, which is obviously this places government…and started giving the orders himself…and ever since we got here, Kuchiki-san's execution date kept getting pushed forwards"

"So…"

"It's obvious isn't it" Layne started explaining again "Aizen's goal is to kill Rukia"

Joel perked up, "Shit…Renji's back on the hill?" He disengaged himself from Nemu's back and flashstepped off

The blood drained from Ichigo's face "Renji…had Rukia" he vanished too

"For fucks sake" Layne complained "Doesn't anyone explain where they are going around here?" and with that he flashstepped off as well

Moll facepalmed at his hypocritical statement, and began running back up the Hill with the others, knowing that none of them could move fast enough to catch those three idiots

* * *

"I refuse, Captain Aizen" Renji said stoically

"Very well then" Aizen replied, moving forwards and unsheathing his zanpakuto "I can understand just how you feel right now, so if you want to hold onto Rukia, that's fine, just leave your arms there and step aside"

"Shit" Renji thought, sidestepping just fast enough to dodge Aizen lopping off both arms at once

"Impressive" Aizen said calmly "You've become strong enough to dodge successfully, However, if at all possible could you please stop being so stubborn? It's difficult enough not killing you with the first hit, and being your former superior, I couldn't bear to see you die"

"Then why did you kill Hinamori" Renji shouted "Howl! Zabimaru!"

Renji's sword changed to the long serrated whip and he shot it straight towards Aizen, who blocked it with his palm, so it all tangled up and fell on the floor, destroyed by his reiatsu

Aizen appeared behind Renji, slashing all up his back, so blood spurted and covered him and Rukia

Renji gasped in pain and knelt down,

"So, Abarai-kun, I'll ask you one last time, Put down Kuchiki Rukia"

"Renji…let me go" Rukia pleaded

"I refuse" Renji said, coming up with a grin "I'm never letting go of her again"

"How unfortunate" Aizen said, swinging his zanpakuto in an arc towards Renji's neck, who grit his teeth and shut his eyes

There was a clang, and Renji opened his eyes, to see Joel standing in front of him, Way to the Dawn in direct contact with Aizen's zanpakuto

Aizen disengaged and jumped back a few steps

"Yo, Renji, I came to help" Joel said with a grin

"Sorry" Ichimaru said, rubbing the back of his head with his hand "I was zoned out and I didn't notice the three of them coming"

"Three?" Joel thought, glancing sideways and seeing Ichigo and Layne

"So that's Aizen?" Ichigo asked

"Jeez, I think I've got myself in another fight" Layne complained

"It's not a problem," Aizen, said to Ichimaru "The difference between one and four specks of dust isn't something that can be seen with your eyes"

That taunt pulled Ichigo's, Layne's, Joel's and Renji's attention back to Aizen

"Do you still have enough strength left to run?" Ichigo asked

"Yes. But I'm not running, Zabimaru's broken form has its uses"

Ichigo and Renji argued for a little bit while Layne and Joel stood on guard

"Joel"

"Yo?"

"Can you give me an opening?"

"Easily"

"Then let's get this Quadruple Team Started!"

Joel stuck Way to the Dawn in the ground "The ground is going to swallow you up! Quake!"

Earthen spikes moved from where Joel had his zanpakuto stuck in the ground and moved towards Aizen at a frightening speed

"How scary" Ichimaru commented "Control over the very ground we stand on"

Aizen watched the spikes come on in exactly the way Layne would of, and so Layne knew exactly when to strike

"Give it all you got, Roxas!" Layne called out and small streams of water coiled around Oathkeeper and his left hand

Layne launched himself forwards, using the full speed granted by his Bankai, and accelerated even further by swinging Oathkeeper behind him and firing off a jet of water

"Give in to the fury of the raging seas!" He shouted, putting his remaining reiatsu into Oblivion and swinging it straight for Aizen

Who took the blow on his arm with no effect at all, in fact Layne's hollowfied hand couldn't stand up to the reiatsu Aizen had reinforced his arm with and started bleeding

"Oh…Shit"

Aizen cut Layne's left arm off and threw it and Layne at Joel who fell over backwards, trapped under Layne's dead weight

Aizen flashstepped next to the pile

"Who would of thought, that my second generation pseudo-arrancar would be so weak," Aizen said calmly

"I don't know what that means, but fuck you all the same" Layne replied through gritted teeth to avoid showing any signs of pain

"Renji!" Ichigo shouted

"Forgive me Zabimaru… Higa Zekkou!"

The broken and scattered fragments of Zabimaru suddenly rose up and flew at Aizen

"Get away from them" Ichigo shouted as he charged forwards, the speed of his Bankai allowing him to cross the distance almost immediately

"Getsu…" And a blade flashed, and pretty much severed Ichigo at the waist, turning his speech into gurgles

Ichigo hit the ground and stopped moving, while Aizen appeared next to Renji and gave him another deep slice up his back, knocking him out.

"Now, Rukia Kuchiki" Aizen smiled as he approached her "Stand Up"

* * *

**a/n- Win!, i am almost finished this arc *does the safety dance*, yeah thats right**

**I need help with villians!, for the next story arc of "Bleach: Triple Plus"**

**so pop on up to my profile, and drop a review at the looking for villians story**

**also, drop a review here, i've nearly knocked over the 50k mark and still below 10 reviews? you guys must not like the story very much =(**

**Also, the profiles at the beginning of this story are getting a little old, so as soon as i finish this arc, i'll prolly shoot through and Retcon/Update the three profiles at the beginning, as well as add in ones for Kieran, Jed and Anita, cause i'm awesome like that.**

**aaaannnddd, thats it for me, Reviews are dropped by clicking the (sadly not shiny) green button below (^.^)**


	14. Chapter 14: So sorry,It's over

**a/n - I'm going crazy, i went through this chapter faster than Layne in Bankai chasing after a nap, enjoy**

* * *

Renji, Joel, Ichigo and Layne had all been utterly defeated, and Aizen was moving towards Rukia

"Stand Up, Rukia Kuchiki"

Aizen stood next to Rukia, who couldn't move at all "Oh, I see, your entire body became limp because of my reiatsu, no matter"

Aizen reached down and picked her up, hearing a small rustling

Ichigo was still conscious, barely breathing and he glared at Aizen hatefully

"How pitiful" Aizen commented "You must really hate the fact that your strength doesn't match your vitality, but you should just lie there until you die, this mission has no further need of you"

"Mission?" Ichigo choked out

"Bullshit" Layne said, forcing himself up with colossal effort and summoning Oblivion to himself, seeing as he had to left hand to hold Oathkeeper in "We came here because we wanted to, not because we had some sick bastard pulling our strings"

"You, are tiresome, Kaname"

"Benihiko"

A multitude of blades appeared from Tousen's zanpakuto and headed directly towards Layne, who mananged to knock aside all the ones headed towards his face, but with no left arm he couldn't stop about thirteen of them from impaling his stomach

Layne coughed up some blood and went down again

"As I was saying" Aizen continued, placing his attention back on Ichigo

"Your invasion of Seireitei was truly amazing, thanks to you, even when a captain was murdered there was no investigation and it didn't actually seem like a big deal in comparison, thanks to you, it was really easy to make our moves"

"How…did you know we'd even come?"

"Gin"

Ichimaru appeared next to Layne, and sliced off his hollowfied right hand, tossing it to Aizen

Aizen dropped what looked like a few bone spurs onto the ground, "Surveilliance, it would be amiss for me to not monitor one of my creations, but even without that, I would of known, Kisuke Urahara sent you to retrieve Rukia Kuchiki, didn't he?"

"What the hell?"

"I see, so you don't know, Very well then"

Aizen strode towards Ichigo, dragging Rukia with him

"Do you know about the four basic Shinigami arts? They are Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hoho, and Kido, all of them are similar in the fact that they all have a limit, no matter how much natural talent you have, once you hit the limit there is no further growth, and when you have hit the limit of all four, there can be no more growth as a Shinigami…unless, you create a Shinigami-Hollow hybrid"

Ichigo's eyes widened in shock, _Hybrid?_

"It's a concept that has existed in theory for some time, Hollow—Shinigami, Shinigami—Hollow, if you combine the two you create a new limit, I myself focused on Shinigami—Hollow, and was successful in creating Hollows that could hide their spiritual pressure, Hollows that could make a Zanpakuto disappear and fuse with a Shinigami"

Rukia gasped involuntarily as she remembered her encounter with Metastacia, who had fused with Kaien, forcing her to kill him

"But they were all complete failures" Aizen continued "Not worthy of being called breakthroughs, until Kisuke Urahara created the Hogyoku, a substance which can instantly dissolve the barriers between Shinigami and Hollow, but he got afraid of his own creation and attempted to hide it, by putting barriers around it and hiding it in the depths of someones soul…that soul was yours, Rukia Kuchiki, he wasn't trying to help you, he was trying to make you human so he could hide the Hogyoku forever"

Rukia looked like she was about to ask a question, but a large reiatsu washed over them and Captain Komamura jumped down behind Aizen and shouted "AIZEN!!!", swinging his zanpakuto down

Aizen just lifted a hand and blocked it effortlessly

"What a surprise, I haven't seen that face for a while, Komamura-kun"

"How…can you still laugh? Aizen!" Komamura growled as a giant fist punched the ground, seemingly from his Shikai

"For your lies!, and betrayal of us all, I shall crush you, Ban…"

Komamura stopped speaking as he suddenly noticed Aizen standing right in front of him "_Impossible, he was standing over there"_

"Hado number 90, Kurohitsugi" Aizen intoned, forming a black cube of kido which enveloped Komamura

"_No way" _Ichigo thought as he watched the kido dissipate and Komamura emerge and collapse, wounded all over "_Even the other captains can't do a thing"_

"How terrifying" Ichimaru commented, not sounding terrified at all "When did you became able to skip the incantation for a spell at level 90?"

"The spell didn't even reach 1/3rd of its full capacity" Aizen replied, and then turned to look at Rukia again "My apologies, now where was I?"

Aizen thought to himself for a second "Ahh yes, to ensure your capture, I sent the 6th division, to prevent you from becoming human, I ordered the immediate destruction of your Gigai, and to ensure your execution, I decided to use the Sokyoku"

Aizen reached inside his shihakusho and pulled out a small white vial

"I wasn't expecting your group to come so far and actually cause the execution to fail, but I knew it was a possibility so I kept an alternate method on hand"

Aizen lifted Rukia up by the collar and crushed the vial in his hand, causing its contents to wrap themselves around his hand

Aizen stuck his hand directly into Rukia's chest, impaling her and withdrawing a small glass orb

"It's rather small isn't it," He commented, dropping Rukia to the ground, the hole on her chest sealing up

"Oho, so the recipient is unharmed, what an extraordinary technique" Aizen said, picking up Rukia by the collar again "Unfortunately, I have no further use for you, Kill her, Gin"

Ichimaru stepped forwards and thrusted his zanpakuto "Shoot to Kill, Shinso"

Shinso's blade extended, aimed directly for Rukia's heart, but passed through harmlessly, as Byakuya jumped up, removed Rukia from Aizen's grip and took the blade into himself

Aizen raised an eyebrow, as Byakuya collapsed and Rukia called his name

Suddenly a zanpakuto was pressed against his neck, and he felt the poke of hidden blades in his stomach, as Yoruichi and Soifon grabbed him

"Don't move" Yoruichi commanded,

"If you move even one muscle, you'll lose your head" Soifon added

"Very well then"

Three giants, each the size of the Sokyoku hill all jumped from nowhere and landed next to it, causing the earth to shake

"The three gate guardians!" Yoruichi shouted,

Another giant figure Jumped down, halting the original three

"YO!, Yoruichi!" a small figure shouted, on the giant ones shoulder "I got bored, so I decided to take a walk"

"Kuukaku!" Yoruichi exclaimed in relief

"Let's do it Jidanbo, Sprinkled on the bones of the beast, pointing tower, red crystal, steel cartwheels, move and make wind, stop and make calm, The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle, HADO. NO. 63! Raikouho!"

Kuukaku shot her spell directly at one of the gatekeepers and blasted him away, and the other two didn't even blink

"So scary" Ichimaru commented waving a hand back "Whatever should I do"

His hand was suddenly grabbed, and a zanpakuto was placed against his throat

"Don't move please" Matsumoto asked

"Sorry Captain Aizen" Ichimaru apologized, "She got me"

"This is the end Aizen" Soifon snarled

"What did you say?"

Jed and Anita had gotten up and released their zanpakuto's , an unconscious Kieran between them

"What should we do, Aizen-san?" Anita asked

"Stand there and accept your punishment" Captain-commander Yamamoto growled, paralyzing them with his reiatsu

"Don't you feel it Aizen? You've been completely surrounded" Yoruichi said smugly

Ichigo looked around, seeing Kyoraku, Ukitake, the fat lieutenant and the old lieutenant that Layne had beaten up before, as well 3 other lieutenants he hadn't seen before

Aizen merely smiled

"What is there to smile about?" Yoruichi asked, a little frustrated by this bastard

"I'm sorry, but it's time"

Yoruichi shot a glance up at the Sky, and what she saw horrified her

"Get away Soifon!"

Yoruichi and Soifon jumped back, just in time to avoid the golden beam that shot down and encased Aizen

A clawed hand tore through the sky, generating the beam and opening the way for more clawed hands to poke through

"Menos Grande" Ukitake whispered, looking at the sky in horror

Three more beams shot through the sky, encompassing Jed, Kieran, Anita, Ichimaru and Tousen

Hisagi and Rangiku barely had enough time to jump back before the beams got them too

The ground, weakened by constant impacts and Joel's earth moves, tore away in the beam and started floating upwards

"Trying to run away" The fat lieutenant snarled, moving to attack the beam

"Stop!" Yamamoto ordered "That beam is called Negacion, Menos use it to rescue their comrades, once the light has been cast, the fight is over, Aizen, is out of our reach"

Komamura suddenly sat up, took a moment to get his bearings and slammed a fist into the ground

"TOUSEN!, Get down here!" He shouted, the rage in his voice nowhere near mirroring the rage colouring his reiasu

"WHERE IS YOUR JUSTICE NOW TOUSEN!!!"

"I explained to you Komamura" Tousen called back down, still rising higher "The paths I see with these eyes are the only ones not covered in blood, therefore any path I choose will be justice"

"To sink all the way to allying with Menos" Ukitake said with contempt "What is your goal Aizen?"

"To go higher" Aizen replied simply

"Have you fallen so far in the process?"

It was at this moment that Moll, Orihime and the others reached the top of the hill and watched the scene ahead,

"You are too arrogant Ukitake, No one stands on top of the sky, not you, not me, not even the gods, but the unbearable vacancy of the throne in the sky is over, from now on, I will be sitting on it"

As he said this, he took of his glasses, crushed them, and let the fragments scatter, and he swept a hand through his hair, completely changing the style

"Farewell, Shinigami," He said, looking at each of them in turn "And farewell, young Drifters" he added, looking at Ichigo and Layne, who stared back, unable to move "For humans, you were interesting"

* * *

Unohana swooped in on Minazuki and was greeted by Ukitake

Her 4th division minions were scurrying around, being generally supervised by Ukitake, as Isane was finishing up on Hitsugaya and Hinamori, and Iemura was assisting her

"Progress report, Captain Ukitake?" Unohana asked calmly

"Lieutenants Abarai, and Bluzer have been removed to the hospital, Captain Komamura wandered off a while ago, refusing treatment"

Unohana frowned at that, it meant that she'd have to track him down and scare him into going to the hospital

"Does anyone still need help?"

"Those two Ryoka, and Captain Kuchiki"

Unohana took a look at Ichigo and Layne, under Orihime's Soten Kesshun, surrounded by Chad, Uryuu and Moll, and instantly saw that she would be of no use over there, so went to help Byakuya

* * *

"Layne" Ichigo spoke up

"Hmm?"

"Why did Aizen call you his creation?"

"I have no earthly idea" Layne replied, "But if he's responsible for that thing inside me that tried to take over in my fight with Kieran, I'll take extra pleasure out of kicking his ass"

Ichigo absorbed Layne's words with shock, _"I hadn't been planning on telling anyone about that, but he just spat it right out"_

Ichigo explained about his inner hollow experience and Layne nodded in complete understanding, "So let me get this straight, that thing, was like one of this bigass things in the sky except inside us?"

Ichigo nodded, and Layne cursed

"Fuck it, it doesn't matter anyway"

Layne came to terms with it so quickly that Ichigo was forced to blink

"You're ok with that?" Ichigo didn't want to look week by admitting he was afraid, and he thought Layne might be doing the same thing

"Yeah, I'm not going to lose to some stupid thing like some soul-eating monster that exists inside me and is attempting to take over my body"

The way Layne said it, not sarcastically, but completely devoid of emotion, convinced Ichigo that he wasn't lying

They were silent for a bit longer and then Ichigo spoke up again

"…I'm sorry I dragged you here to save some random you don't know"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You got totally screwed up a couple of times, and I'm pretty sure you don't even know Rukia"

"And…your apologizing why?"

"…"

"Look Ichigo, I would of come anyway, I had my own reason to be here, and as for the getting hurt part? I decided I would help you achieve your goal, and it would be ok if I died trying"

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard"

"So is you trying to take all the pain for yourself" Layne replied flatly

"I've been around you long enough Ichigo, and you need to trust in your friends more, you can't just go around and defend everyone, or keep them out of harm's way because people like Chad, Uryuu and Orihime will go to the ends of the earth with you, standing at your side"

Ichigo was silent as he absorbed that

"Oi dude" Layne added as an afterthought "Thanks for saving my ass"

Layne extended his hand and Ichigo grasped it

"You can start relying on your friends, by relying on me; I'm strong enough to take it"

They let go of each other's hands and returned to staring at the sky in partial silence, partial because Layne fell asleep and started snoring

* * *

Ichigo lay staring face up at the ceiling of the 4th division's hospital complex, still listening to Layne's snoring

Orihime had run out of energy after somehow regrowing Layne's hand and so the rest of their wounds, not to mention Moll's had to be treated by the 4th

The ride here hadn't been particularly comfortable, stuck in the gut of some manta ray zanpakuto, but the saliva accelerated the healing, or so Unohana said.

* * *

"That was possibly the best sleep I've ever had" Layne commented, stretching as he and Ichigo walked along the streets of Seireitei

Ichigo facepalmed, Layne had been asleep from when he passed out under Orihime's Soten Kesshun, through the ride to the 4th in the stomach of Unohana's zanpakuto, being examined, checked, healed and otherwise poked and prodded, he had slept for a solid 36 hours, which was how long it took the wounds to seal so they didn't need to wear bandages any more. He actually would have slept longer until Ichigo and Isane, tired of his constant snoring, poked him out of bed with both of his zanpakuto

"So…where are we supposed to go now" Ichigo asked Layne, who was still preoccupied with stretching

Layne concentrated, sensing out every unique reiatsu signature of people he had met till now, quite a few were behind him, like Renji, Byakuya, Unohana and Isane, but he could sense Joel and Ukitake in the same room, presumably doing paperwork, and everyone else was spread all through Seireitei doing their own thing

"Damn, it's going to be tough to track everyone down" Ichigo muttered

Layne raised an eyebrow at that "Does it really matter right now? Theres that party tonight that they invited us to for some reason, so we'll see everyone there…and the gate home won't be ready for a couple of days anyway"

Ichigo looked at Layne weirdly, he had just spouted some facts that Ichigo was sure he'd been sleeping through

"Were you really asleep?" he asked, completely deadpan

"Let's put it this way Ichigo" Layne chuckled "Absorbing information, is by no means the weirdest thing I've done while asleep"

And with that line he walked off, looking for something to pass the time to the party tonight

* * *

He found it, and by the time he realized what time it was he was entering the doors into the party

Everyone was split into groups, but he couldn't see a Captain in sight

There was, Ikkaku, Rangiku, Yumichika, Renji, Joel, Hisagi, Kira and Iba all completely soused, and still drinking, and Hisagi pressed some sake into Layne's hand as he walked past

The next group consisted of Yoruichi, Kuukaku, Moll, Nanao, Isane, and Rukia, just chatting and drinking tea

Layne passed by them and caught sight of the group consisting of Ichigo, Chad, Uryuu and Orihime, and began making his way there when he felt a tap on his shoulder

He turned around and Soifon was standing behind him

"The Captain's all require your presence in the next room" she said, turning and leaving

Layne raised an eyebrow and out of the corner of his eye saw Ichigo getting led to a door by Hitsugaya, so he caught up and walked through the door into what looked like a very impromptu Captain's meeting

Soifon and Hitsugaya took their place, and Layne noted the three places missing "_Prolly cause of Aizen and those other two"_

"Ichigo Kurosaki, and Layne Trell" Yamamoto said gruffly, standing at the head of the formation

"Sup" Layne drawled, waving a hand

"What do you need us in here for Gramps?" Ichigo asked

"You both show, extraordinary strength, dedication and tenacity, and mastery of Bankai, It is the Unanimous decision of this council, that you be offered Captaincy of the 3rd, and 9th divisions

Ichigo and Layne stared at each other

"What?" began Layne

"The" added Ichigo

"Fuck" Layne finished

* * *

A couple of days later, after the party, Ichigo and Layne had made Soul Society history, the only two people to ever turn down Captaincy, at exactly the same second.

Ichigo was currently running away from Kenpachi, and Layne was at the 13th division headquarters, talking to Joel and Ukitake

Joel spat out his drink when he heard the news

"No joke, they offered you Captaincy of the 9th?"

Both Layne and Ukitake nodded

"Great, this means you can stay here in the Seireitei"

Ukitake started shaking his head and Layne sighed

"Joel, I turned it down"

"Wut?"

"I've watched you do paperwork from pretty much dusk, till dawn, and your only Ukitake's lieutenant? Dude, they wanted to make us captains"

Joel was overcome with shock, until he realized just how like Layne it was

"So your declining out of pure laziness?"

"Hell Yes"

Joel sighed and turned to Ukitake "Captain, I have to inform you that I'm quitting then"

"What? Why?" Layne burst out

Joel looked confused

"So I can go back with you?

"Hell no, your staying right here" Layne said stubbornly

"What?"

"Listen you idiot, you were ready to kill me because of your sense of duty to this place. I'm not letting you abandon it because of me"

"Layne…"

"Don't say anything sappy, if I let you leave that Nemu chick would prolly tear me a new one, and it's not like we aren't going to see each other ever again, there's still those brothers of ours and Aizen out there somewhere"

Without waiting for Joel's reply Layne turned and walked out into the office antechamber where Ichigo and the others were waiting

"Idiot" Joel muttered, and then smiled at Ukitake, "Don't mind me, erase anything I might of said about quitting from your memory"

Ukitake smiled back and nodded "Do you want to go see them off?, the 12th has finished the Senkei Gate"

"Let's get going then"

The group walked along the streets of Seireitei, heading towards the 12th personal Senkei gate, which had been modified so it would reverse the effect that Urahara's Senkei gate had on Chad, Uryuu and Orihime

As they walked, Yoruichi caught up to them in cat form, decided that walking was too much trouble and attached herself to Layne's shoulder, Moll also joined them and pulled Layne a little apart from the group to talk to him

"Layne, I've decided to stay"

"Cool…wait what?"

I'm going to stay here in Soul Society" she repeated "Nanao is a kido master, and she's agreed to train me, and Unohana says theres a position opening up in her squad that would suit my abilities, if I agree to become her student in zanjutsu and healing kido"

Layne had a pretty good idea which position would be opening up, That creepy dude that she used to have as her third seat, had asked Layne to pretty much decimate the 11th division to stop them rioting in the 4th, and Unohana had caught him

"Cool," Layne repeated, hiding the disappointment he felt

They reached the 12th and entered, avoiding Kurotsuchi's freaky sidekicks went to the back compound of the division, where the Senkei gate was waiting for them

All the captains and lieutenants were there waiting, lined up in their formations, with Ikkaku, Yumichika, Rukia and Hanataro looking like after thoughts at the very end.

Ukitake and Joel took their positions and Moll went and joined the afterthoughts

Ichigo, Layne and the others walked past the assembled Gotei 13, smiling, and accepting all the farewells they got

When they got to Moll and Rukia, they did something very rare for both of them, and glomped both Ichigo and Layne, so the four of them were stuck in two large glomps

"Thank you, both of you" Rukia whispered

"I'm going to miss you two jerks"

Layne sweatdropped at Moll's line as he extricated himself and Ichigo from their grips

Ichigo and the others said their goodbyes and prepared to step through the gate, when Ukitake suddenly remembered something

"Ichigo-kun, Layne-kun" he said quickly

"Ukitake-san?" Ichigo questioned, as he and Layne turned around

Ukitake handed them both a medallion type thing that had a skull inscribed on it, over a cross emblem, Layne's cross was a deep green, and Ichigo's cross was black

"What are these?" Layne asked, confused

"Seals of approval, basically Soul Society has rules for acting Shinigami, and if we feel that those people are beneficial to Soul Society, we give them these, but normal humans won't be able to see them, because it's a reasonably powerful artifact and it can knock souls out of bodies, like Gikongan"

"Thanks, Ukitake-san" Ichigo said, and Layne nodded

They turned back towards the Senkei Gate, and walked through

* * *

**a/n - dun dun dun duuuuunnn, I hope the title of this chapter didn't scare you into thinking i was quitting writing/this story XD, i'm still going strong, thought the SS arc + Layne/Ichigo/Moll and so on would take me less time than it did but meh, it was fun to write and i hope it was fun to read**

**My next project will be to update the character profiles for Layne/Moll/Joel, and add in Kieran/Moll/Jed, the profiles will be a snapshot of what i imagine their powers/positions to be in about a week of their time. and i'll prolly update them at the end of the next arc, and the arc after that too**

**Still looking for villians, i got 5 pretty sick submissions (but don't let randomguy24 hog all the villian spots =P)**

**i'm after 2 more guys, preferably guys that could be taken on by Shikai only wielders and win with a hell of an effort so head to my profile, and drop a review at the Looking for Villians story, and once again below this post there is a green button, it says, Review this chapter/story or something like that. i'm fair sure you should click it, type something nice in the box that pops up and go from there =D**


	15. Chapter 15: Cue Track Two

**a/n - Welcome back to Bleach Triple Plus, and without further ado (sorry, i've got exams coming, plus i was out of state for the weekend, which actually let me draft a bit more story, but not going to work on this until after my half yearlies) Enjoy the beginning of my original arc**

* * *

"ARGH!" Ichigo shouted, as he ran through Koryuu current dimension yet again "Why are we going through here again!, didn't we take the official gateway?"

"Quit bitching" Yoruichi called back to him, "We are at the exit already"

As they exited the gate, everyone suddenly felt the curious sensation that they were running on air

Layne looked down, seeing the buildings far below him and muttered "Oh shit"

The group fell screaming, until a shot from a cannon sounded and they got hit by a huge carpet like thing and started flying upwards again

As they were yelling so loudly they didn't hear the "Jinta Home Run!", but Layne felt the impact as a giant bat came crashing down on the ball and coincidentally Layne's back

The ball began flying downwards even through a "Tessai Death Catch", until suddenly it stopped moving, and the carpet was pulled off the group, who were all splayed out on a flying carpet

"Welcome back everyone" Urahara said happily

Layne and Uryuu just groaned, while everyone else remained silent

"Kurosaki-san…" Urahara began "Did someone, tell you about me?"

"Yeah" Ichigo replied

Urahara took off his hat, and faced Ichigo, head down

"I'm really, really sorry"

Ichigo looked at the corner of his eye at Layne, who had also suffered greatly because of Urahara, even though he had been in on a little more than Ichigo from the beginning

Layne shrugged, _it didn't matter whether Urahara was involved or not, either way that Aizen guy would have totaled us_

Ichigo decided to take Layne's example

"Don't do that" he told Urahara "I never said was pissed off or anything, It's not like you did something bad, and you helped us to get stronger and got us into Soul Society and everything…we are all grateful for your help"

Ichigo sat back down on the carpet "You should apologize to Rukia though, even though she'll say the same stuff I did"

Urahara turned to Layne, who raised an eyebrow

"And … Trell-kun"

"Don't even think about it, Urahara-san, It would of made no difference anyway" Layne said dismissively

They rode the carpet in silence until Orihime spotted a familiar landmark

"Ishida-kun? Isn't that your house?"

"Yes, Urahara-san, could you pull over here please?"

Urahara nodded and pulled the carpet over

"See ya Ishida," Ichigo said, as Uryuu prepared to jump off the carpet, "If we need your help, we'll just call you"

"Have you forgotten…Kurosaki?"

"Eh?"

"You're a Shinigami and I'm a Quincy…The next time we meet, we're enemies"

And with that he jumped off the side of the carpet

"Damn Him," Ichigo fumed

"He thinks one thing and says another" Orihime said, almost apologetically, and then perking up "But that's one of Ishida-kun's strong points

Layne smiled to himself as he watched Ichigo, Chad and Orihime interact. _Hanging with these guys is going to be badass_

Urahara pulled over the carpet again, presumably for Orihime because she said "I'll get off here then" and jumped off, waving as Chad, Ichigo and Layne waved back

Eventually they dropped off Chad and Ichigo and it was just Urahara, Yoruichi, Layne, Tessai, Jinta and Ururu on the carpet

"Where to then, Trell-san?" Urahara questioned

"Why are you asking me?" Layne replied lazily, "I have no idea where I'm going to do"

Urahara nodded and directed the carpet again, headed for Urahara's shop

* * *

They arrived at the shop, Tessai, Ururu and Jinta leaving to do whatever it was they did around the store when no one was watching, and Urahara led Layne and Yoruichi to the sitting table, where Layne unhooked his swords and placed them on the floor beside him as he sat down, and Yoruichi jumped up and sat down on the table

"So, Trell-san, what are your plans" Urahara asked, sitting down opposite from Layne

"Like I said, I have no idea what the deal is" Layne replied, placing his hands behind his head and leaning against a conveniently placed cabinet "I sorta figured that since I helped Ichigo's group, and by extension, You, that you would force me to go back where I came from"

"The option is open, but we would have to seal your powers, cutting off all contact from your Zanpakuto Spirit" _And your inner hollow _Urahara added mentally

Layne's face showed what he thought of that idea

"Well, what else can I do?" Layne asked, a slight trace of distaste remaining in his voice "I sure as hell ain't losing contact with Roxas for anything"

"How about you work here at the store?" Yoruichi spoke up, valiantly trying to keep the smirk off her cat face "You could keep me company here, it gets sooo lonely here"

Her teasing had the desired effect, eliciting a look of jealousy from Urahara that he quickly hid with his fan, and Layne turned the same shade of red as a tomato and looked away.

"Don't say things that could be misconstrued" Layne said hastily, having caught the look on Urahara's face

"Anyway" Urahara said quickly, "I regret to inform you that the Urahara Store has no open positions at this point in time, I thank you for your interest.

"…"

Tessai entered the room, "Boss, we've finished"

"Ahh, good, Trell-san, Yoruichi-san, would you follow me please"

Urahara led them down the ladder into the underground training area, and it was only now that Layne appreciated just how truly massive it was.

Layne and Moll had only received their training in one small area of it, and Urahara had set up his special Senkei gate in another area, but Urahara was leading them to neither of those places.

Layne began to notice that the way they were heading, the walls began to get higher and higher, like they were walking into a canyon

They rounded and corner and Layne stood, mouth agape as he stared at the sight of his house, completely reconstructed, and standing there in the middle of this large canyon under Urahara's shop

Layne turned to look at Urahara, unable to close his mouth and form words because the utterly impossible sight of his house, HIS house standing good as new, had probably melted his brain down into mush and caused it to leak out his ears, but there were no visible signs of that so far

"Everything was sucked through my portal, so to distract us as we waited for news from Soul Society we scoured Karakura for pieces and reconstructed the entire thing, I believe the inside will be as you left it as well" Urahara explained

His explanation fell on deaf ears however because Layne decided that running would take too much time and simply flashstepped into his house

Inside Layne looked around, _It's all here! TV, Fridge, Moll's Room, Joel's Room, Computer, and My Room_

Layne's house was a two level brown brick house, that used to house 3 people but after Kieran killed their mother and bailed, Layne was left the entire house to himself, and so he moved most of the things into one room to save time and left the other rooms bare, until Joel and Moll had practically moved in with him and decorated the spare rooms with their own stuff

Urahara and Yoruichi entered the front door and looked around

"Pretty nice place Layne" Yoruichi commented, while Urahara said nothing as he had seen it all before

"Yeah, this is my place, but Moll and Joel used to spend…"

Layne trailed off as he noticed a couple of things on the table that shouldn't have been there

Namely his schoolbag and his Sony mp3 player that had been in his pocket before he had been sucked through the portal

Seeing the bag, struck Layne with an idea

* * *

The very next day, Ichigo walked down the halls of his school, a little disgruntled that school had been on the very next day that he returned from Soul Society

Rounding the corner, he coathangered the Keigo-blur that launched itself at him

"O-su Keigo" he said, stepping over him

"Good morning Ichigo," greeted Mizuiro, also stepping over Keigo, who began muttering threats under his breath

"O-su Mizuiro" replied Ichigo

They walked together until they reached the door to their classroom

"Good Morning Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime waved and jumped around happily as Ichigo entered

Chad merely nodded, and Uryuu threw some light insult that Ichigo ignored

"Ichigoooo!!!" Keigo shouted yet again, having somehow recovered from Ichigo's attack earlier "What's up with that combo, Why is Chad, with Inoue-san, and Uryuu? That's like… Beauty and the Beast plus Glasses!"

"Nothing happened" muttered Ichigo, going to join Uryuu, Orihime and Chad, causing Keigo to wail "Nooooo, my fear of being the odd one out is coming true!"

A foreboding shadow caught in the corner of Ichigo's eye but before he could do anything about it

"Goood Morning Hime!" Chizuru shouted, sneaking up behind Orihime and beginning to fondle her breasts

A foot slammed into Chizuru's face and she went flying

"Jeez, All you ever do is try to get some" Tatsuki said disdainfully

"Ok Brats! Time to scurry into your seats!"

The teacher had arrived and slammed the door from behind her, seemingly oblivious to the small yelp of pain from the person she had slammed the door on

"Alright, listen up, there's a new student in today"

The door opened and Layne walked through, holding the bridge of his nose as nosebleed preventative, and muttering something about stupid single minded teachers

Ichigo's eyes widened a little, Uryuu pushed his glasses up, Chad sweated a little and Orihime had to restrain herself from throwing out an enthusiastic greeting

The teacher talked a little, but Layne paid no attention, he was happy that he'd been able to surprise everyone by turning up at their school

When Layne had said to Urahara, "Why not just go to school?" Urahara had laughed, and told him to talk seriously

So on the 4th try, they got down to details

* * *

---FLASHBACK---

"_So the house down here has electricity, gas and water?" Layne asked, having checked it out to find that it was exactly as he had left it as Urahara claimed_

_Urahara looked offended "Of Course, all my reconstructions are accurate down to the last detail" _

_Layne grinned "Then I'll stay down here, it's far enough out of your way…and I'm close enough to help out with Hollows and stuff"_

_Urahara thought for a second "How about supplying yourself with food?"_

_Now it was Layne's turn to think "If you give me what you usually spend on groceries, plus a little extra, I'll do all the shop's shopping and my part can be payment"_

_Urahara nodded again, it went against his tightassed soul, but he owed both Ichigo and Layne, as well and Rukia and everyone else and this could be part of it_

_He turned to leave, but then remembered something_

"_Trell-san, you never did tell me why you chose to turn down captaincy, and return to this world"_

"_Cause Ichigo did" Layne replied simply "I can't really explain it, but there's something in me that's telling me to stick close to Ichigo, that he's going to need my help… and anyway, that line was drawn and I pledged my devotion"_

_Urahara raised an eyebrow, even though Layne couldn't see it because Urahara had his back turned_

"_You do realize, from this point there is no turning back"_

"_If I was going to turn back I would have done it after you sucked me through that portal…and anyway, turning back is cheating"_

_Urahara grinned; Seemed like Layne was the right person to get_

_He left, conveniently forgetting to mention the haircut Layne was going to require to be allowed at Karakura High. Yoruichi would kill him for denying her some fun after all._

---FLASHBACK END---

* * *

Layne was assigned a seat diagonally behind Uryuu, and everyone took a second look at him,

He did look a little different. His hair didn't go over his ears, and everyone could see the two studs in his left ear, and the ring in his right

The haircut was courtesy of Yoruichi, who ambushed him after he had gotten into his body, taken a shower, dressed and gone to scrounge some food from Urahara

She had been waiting for him as he left his house in the underground training area, with scissors and one hell of a nasty grin on her face

Layne had spotted the grin, and decided to try and run, but in his body his speed was no match for hers, and she had held him down and taken an inch of hair off, and walked off chortling

All things considered, it didn't look to bad.

* * *

Lunchtime came around, and as the only one who didn't bring a lunch from home, Layne was walking from the Cafeteria to the roof, where Ichigo said that him, Chad and Uryuu hung out

Layne took one look at the flight of stairs leading to the roof, and sighed "So they don't have elevators in the place do they" he muttered under his breath

When he (finally) made it to the top of the stairs and out the door, he looked around and caught side of Ichigo's group being accosted by a pair of jerks

As Layne got closer he caught the thread of the conversation

"This is real nice Kurosaki…I wasn't planning on it, but I can finish up with you right here and now" one of the jerks said, pulling out some brass knuckles and slipping them on

Layne was surprised, back where he came from the bullies only used their fists, and the occasional knife

Uryuu, Chad, Ichigo and their black haired friend had seen Layne approaching and didn't even look impressed as the guy with the knuckles stepped forward menacingly, though Ichigo's brown haired friend was going hysterical

Layne tapped the guy on the shoulder, He turned around and Layne delivered a shutting up punch directly to the guys jaw

The other guy moved towards Layne but Ichigo kicked him in the face, dropping him

"Is it always like this?" Layne asked lightly, shaking his hand to get rid of the aftershock

Ichigo and Chad nodded

The brown haired guy was still going hysterical "You're that new student! How do you know Chad and Ichigo already?"

Layne ignored him and sat down, beginning to eat

He kept going crazy but the black haired kid approached Layne "Forgive Asano-san over there, he isn't normal like everyone else"

Layne grinned; _I could get to like this guy_

"Mizuiro! Whyyyyyy!" Mr Asano sobbed

"Shut it Keigo" Ichigo said, slapping him on the back of the head

They returned to eating lunch as, Keigo and Mizuiro asked Layne questions which he had to make up answers for, like "What school did you transfer from", and "What sort of things he liked doing"

Some strange sound broke the monotony, and the Seal of Approval that Layne had tied to his belt rose into the air and started screeching "Hollow Hollow Hollow!"

Ichigo's also started sounding off and he jumped about 3 ft into the air, eliciting strange looks from Keigo and Mizuiro, who out of all of them, seemed to be unable to hear the Seal's warning call

Chad and Uryu gave Ichigo and Layne a look that said "Hollow?"

Ichigo nodded, and ran off, used to the routine of hollow cleansing from being guided by Rukia

It was stash your body, and run out, confident in your own invisibility.

Layne however was slow, not knowing where the best place to stash his body was, and he didn't know that spiritual bodies where invisible to those without powers.

* * *

So after spending about 30 min just trying to get out of the school without being seen, he realized he could just flashstep, and as such got to the party late

The hollows just kept coming, swarming Layne and Ichigo, who initially came to deal with a single hollow in a primary school close by to Karakura High, but one had become many, and now the skies were full of them, and now Ichigo and Layne had to clear them before they decide to feast on the P.E class down below

"Isn't there usually one at a time?" Layne asked idly, parrying a swipe with his sealed zanpakuto and quickly cleansing the hollow responsible

"Getsuga Tensho!" Ichigo shouted, the blue crescent cutting a swathe through the remaining hollows, but they swarmed together to fill the gap

Layne stole a glance down at the school kids playing kickball, completely oblivious to the struggle going on a kilometer above their heads

Stabbing a hollow that tried to sneak up on him, he looked closer and amended the thought in his head

"Oi Ichigo" he called out, "I thought you said we were invisible to normal people?"

There was one person, literally staring at the two as they weaved through the hollows

It wasn't a student, and she had a maniacal grin on her face as she surveyed the two, and Layne also noticed she was wearing a red shihakusho

As if she became aware of Ichigo's and Layne's counter-scrutiny, she disappeared from Layne's sight and caused him to double take in surprise, nearly taking a hit from a hollow that moved in while we was distracted

The hollow died, and Layne checked around again "Strange," he muttered to himself "Might have been a trick of the light"

He dismissed the sight and went back to clearing hollows

"Drift!, Roxas!"

* * *

Unbeknownst to Layne, he and Ichigo had actually been watched, and the figure made her way into a building on the other side of town, via kicking down the door

"How was that, Kira?" one of the buildings inhabitants asked, moving to replace the door

"The carrothead had a real nice reiatsu, but I couldn't sense the other one" Kira sighed, sitting down in a conveniently placed chair

"He was hiding his reiatsu behind the Orange Haired Shinigami" a third voice sounded, as he walked through the open door of the building

Various impressed noises sounded, and Kira leant forward on her chair "You followed me?"

"Of course, I guessed you may have use of my enhanced reiatsu sense" The third voice replied, sounding bored

Kira threw her head back and laughed "This is what I like to hear!"

"Is there any way for you to get an accurate measure?" The first voice asked

"I could only tell that he was hiding his reiatsu and how he was hiding it, you'd have to get into a fight to get him to reveal the full extent of it"

* * *

**a/n - and so concludes this chapter =(, (or =D if you don't like this story, but hey, why would you be at this point if you didn't XD)**

**my creative process and storyboarding is far, far ahead of my actual writing, so i'll just lay out a rough storyline here**

**Soul Society Arc - Complete**

**This Arc - In progress**

**My take on the beginning of the Arrancar arc**

**Zanpakuto Unknown Tales arc**

**Hueco Mundo arc**

**and we'll see where we go from there**

**Layne/Moll/Joel plus other oc's will be central figures in this story =D**

**plz press green button down, your positive reviews fuel me to do well in these exams so i can dedicate more time to writing the story**

**oh and dear god, Yamamoto has to be the most overpowered thing in the entire bleach universe, WW stood absolutely no chance XD  
**


	16. Chapter 16: Mod and Slaughter

**a/n - Sup, me again i know i said not until after half yearlies, but good (at least in my mind) fanfiction waits for no stinking maths test, which i prolly failed XD**

* * *

After retrieving their bodies, Layne and Ichigo rushed to class, lunch having ended 15 minutes into their foray against that battalion of hollows, they returned just in time to receive a book to the face from the teacher, though Layne got the impression she didn't really care.

"Now if there was only some way to leave our bodies in class without them slumping over our desks like they were dead" Layne muttered to Ichigo as they made their way to their seats

A virtual light bulb went off over Ichigo's head "We'll go see Hat n Clogs later" he replied

Layne nodded and they returned to their seats, settling back in for the rest of the school day

* * *

Seeing as heading to Urahara's store was the same as heading home for Layne, they decided to drop by Ichigo's house to set up some back-story for Layne randomly appearing there in the future. As well as to pick up "Some Perverted Plushy" as Ichigo described it

Layne decided not to comment on that, as part of his new "Not question any weird shit" stance

They reached the front door and went through, Layne's keen eyes noting the Huge-ass Poster on the wall, the door to the clinic's beds, Ichigo's two sisters and a blur that Ichigo kicked in the face

"My son" Isshin sobbed as he lay on the ground, blood streaming from his face "You countered Daddy's Super Speed Double Foot technique, I have nothing left to teach you"

"Bastard, Is this how you treat your son who's gone out of his way to introduce the new guy from school to you" Ichigo growled, veins bulging dangerously on his forehead

Ichigo's sisters came over, and Ichigo made introductions for both sides

"Bloody hell dad," Karin complained "Didn't you see that Ichi-nii had a friend with him when he walked in the door? Can't you act like a normal human being for once?"

"Ohh Masaki" Isshin cried overdramatically, pretty much leaping on the poster of the woman on the wall "Our daughter is so cruel to her father"

Layne instantly classed Isshin as weird shit that he shouldn't question…but yet…his eyes they didn't move like the eyes of an idiot usually did, and Layne got the strangest feeling that Isshin had just sheathed a sword

Ichigo paid no further attention to his family and stalked upstairs, Layne trailing behind him

* * *

They entered the room that had "15" on the door

A lion doll was reading a porno mag on Ichigo's bed

That blew Layne's weird shit meter off the charts

"That's Kon" Ichigo explained "I did warn you that we were getting a perverted plushy doll"

Layne's brain just exploded and Kon turned around

"Bastard, you left me in spirit ball form all last night! And I didn't get to complain about you not bringing Nee-san back after you rescued her!" he shouted, pointing at Ichigo accusingly

"Nee-san?" questioned Layne "You're a stuffed Lion… we didn't go to save any stuffed Lionesses"

"Rukia-nee-san!" Kon shouted back attempting to leap up and kick Layne in the face

Ichigo caught him by the head

"I tried to warn you" he said

Layne shook his head "Let's just get to Urahara's, I need to wait for my brain to recover from this"

* * *

They arrived at the store in good time, but no one was out the front and the doors were closed and locked

"Strange" muttered Layne, reaching inside his pocket and extracting an oddly shaped key that Urahara had given him

The key unlocked the door and Layne and Ichigo stepped through

"Jinta Home Run!"

Layne luckily caught the bat before it could collide with Ichigo

"What the hell are you doing Jinta?" Layne asked, raising his eyebrow at the small red-headed brat hanging in the air holding onto the handle of the bat,

"Oh, it's just you guys"

"That doesn't answer my question" Layne replied dropping the bat "Why is the store locked? And why are you ambushing people as they come through the door"

"There was some weird Shinigami in a red uniform eyeing the store before" Jinta replied defensively

"So you acted more suspicious and locked up the store… I bet you were just trying to skive off work" Layne grinned

"No! There was actually someone watching the store!" Jinta insisted

Layne chuckled "Whatever, Urahara around?"

"Underground" Jinta answered sulkily

Layne and Ichigo headed for the trapdoor and Layne called back "Next time, get Ururu to watch the door, if I can stop your bat with one hand in my body, then the average Shinigami should have no trouble, But Ururu should give them second thoughts, cause that cannon of hers is scary shit

Ichigo was already down the ladder, so Layne just climbed down most of the ladder and jumped the last 7 rungs and landed next to where Ichigo was looking around

"See him?"

Ichigo shook his head

Layne sighed and extended his reiatsu sense, feeling around

Ichigo's usual monstrous pillar standing right next to him

And Urahara and Yoruichi in Layne's house for some weird reason

"What the hell could they be doing there?" Layne muttered under his breath

They headed over to Layne's house

"Sonuvabitch" Layne growled, getting a more accurate reading and placing them both in his room

They reached the front door which Layne quietly opened, tiptoeing over to the entrance of his bedroom and motioning Ichigo over

Urahara's and Yoruichi's voiced could be heard

"No Kisuke, you can't put that there, it's just not big enough to fill the entire space" Yoruichi giggled

"You wound my pride, Yoruichi-san" Urahara replied snickering

Various images of debauchery flitted through Layne's head

"They'd better not be doing that… in the room I sleep in" Layne somehow pulled a growl from the very base of his throat, and burst through the door

Urahara and Yoruichi blinked at him as he entered

They were holding Layne's bedside table , and the rest of the furniture in his room was in a totally different spot to where he'd left it that morning

"Oh, Trell-san, tell us where you think this table should go" Urahara asked

"......Why are you moving my furniture?" Layne asked, completely deadpan

"Boredom mostly" Yoruichi replied with a grin

"Mind…Blown" Layne sat down on his bed with his face in his hands, the absolute stupidity of the situation too much for his recently blown brain

Ichigo was used to it, so he got down to business "Urahara-san, have you got anymore of these?"

He pulled Kon from somewhere and tossed him to Urahara

"Bastard, treat my sexy body with some respect" Kon screeched as he flew through the air

Urahara pulled his hat down and looked at it

"I assume you're asking for the common gikon?"

"Layne needs one to keep his body out of danger" Ichigo replied, "Can't really pass Kon around between the two of us"

"I do happen to have a few ordinary gikon hanging around, but they all have some serious personality defects… I could get another shipment from the Soul Society seeing as Yoruichi and I aren't excommunicated anymore…but that could take a few days and I have a quicker solution than either of those"

"We need it as soon as possible" Layne spoke up "I don't really want to leave my body slumped over a table in class"

"Then… I have another Mod Soul"

"Mod Soul?" Layne asked quizzically

"The difference between Gikon and Mod Souls is the addition of special enhanced powers" Urahara explained "Kon over there is a mod soul with super leg strength, though I haven't the faintest clue what this other mod soul I have"

"Why didn't they use these against us in Soul Society? They could have done us some serious damage, leaving aside the seriously screwed up morality behind that"

Ichigo and Urahara glanced at each other

"Rukia told me, that most of the mod souls created were destroyed because someone in the Soul Society was concerned about the morality behind creating Souls, inserting them in dead bodies and forcing them to fight"

"I snuck a few out" Urahara admitted "Kon is a prime example of one of those I managed to save"

"Hold on, so the Soul Society ordered these Mod Souls created… as a race of expendable soldiers… and if that wasn't messed up enough… They then ordered all these Mod Souls destroyed because they correctly judged the immorality of their first decision" Layne buried his face in his hands "For fucks sake, I like the government of the Soul Society less and less every freaking time I hear about it"

"No point in debating it now" Urahara said "I do happen to have one mod soul easily accessible, would you like it?"

Layne glanced at Kon, "He's not going to sit there and just read porn all day right?"

"What's wrong with that!" Kon shouted

"Screw it, if I can make up for some mistakes in this guys life then I will" Layne said "I'll take the mod soul"

* * *

Urahara led everyone back to the main part of the store

Once back, he disappeared for a few minutes and come back with a green pill in a plastic bag, which he handed to Layne, who pulled the pill out and eyed it curiously

"So what do I do with this?"

"Eat it"

Layne stood up and ingested the pill

Instantly he was knocked out of his body, and he watched in amazement as his body didn't just flop over on his face

Yoruichi, Ichigo and Urahara moved to surround it as a precaution

Layne watched as his body twitched, his eyes rolled around experimentally and his arms flexed, without him doing anything

"That's really creepy" Layne commented "I'm not doing anything"

"You get used to it" Ichigo replied

"Hello," The mod soul greeted cheerfully "My name is Layne Trell, My personal motto is total attention, and diligence paid in all things"

"No one is going to believe that's me" Layne muttered

"We are fully aware that you are a mod soul, there is no need to act like a gikon" Urahara told the Mod Soul

The Mod Soul instantly became defensive "What the hell do you shitty Shinigami want with me then, finally realized that I missed your trash compactor of mod souls and you want to destroy me now?"

Layne exhaled, _Oh great, he's paranoid_

"Calm the freakin' farm mate," Layne said placatingly, "If we wanted to destroy you, why would we put you in a body first, giving you access to your powers when we could just stomp on your spirit candy form?"

"I dunno, so I give you the satisfaction of fighting for my life?"

Layne sighed, this might take a while

"Oi! Who's this jackass? He's too loud" Kon jumped up onto Ichigo's shoulder, and glared at Layne's body

"He's another mod soul" Ichigo explained

"Yosh!" Kon jumped down to the ground and looked up at Layne' s body "Since I'm the senior mod soul around here, you're going to have to listen to me, Kon-sama!"

Layne's body bent down and scrutinized Kon

"Traitor," he growled, his voice full of contempt

Flicking Kon with such strength into Ichigo, he used the opening to knock the four of them, Ichigo, Yoruichi, Urahara and Layne into a pile of tangled limbs on the ground

"I'm not having anything to do with you bastard Shinigami, so just leave me alone" he cried as he bailed out the door

"Fuck!" Layne shouted his frustration, being unable to move due to be caught under Yoruichi's chest and Ichigo's legs "That dickhead has my body!"

"Perhaps that wasn't such a good idea after all" Urahara commented, pushing his hat down over his eyes as he untangled himself and stood up "We'll have to go retrieve it and put him back away"

"No way" Layne replied, his eyes glittering "That bastard will do fine, but I'm going to go kick the shit out of him for stealing something of mine first"

* * *

The Mod Soul just ran, not really caring where he ended up, though he did have the idea that he was going to need something to do, and a place to hide because those bastards Shinigami would in no way just leave him alone.

Spotting a crowded park nearby he rushed towards it, hoping to lose himself in the crowd

In his haste he didn't notice the woman in a red shihakusho standing 20 metres above him, keeping pace with him perfectly however well he weaved through the crowds

* * *

Layne and Ichigo ran down the street, following the Mod Soul's spirit thread

Ichigo had shown Layne how to do it, and Layne had been surprised to see that among the White Cloths, there had been a light blue one which represented Uryuu, Two Grey ones which Layne assumed were Chad and Orihime, Layne's, Urahara's , Yoruichi's and Ichigo's Shinigami red ones, and Kon's brown one which was for mod souls. So they found a second brown one, and chased after it.

"Are you seriously thinking about keeping that jerk as your Gikon?" Ichigo asked

Ichigo had switched Kon into his body, and turned to Shinigami form, and the three of them, Layne, Ichigo and Kon ran down a side street following Layne's sense

"Yeah, As soon as I knock some sense into him" Layne replied with a grin

They tracked him to a park, but there the trail went cold

"I can't find him among all the spirit threads" Layne muttered "There's just too many"

"Don't worry, he hasn't done anything as near as bad as when Kon first got in my body"

"I don't want to know"

* * *

Breathing heavily, the mod soul sat down on a park bench, glancing around warily every few seconds

"Wish I had, super leg strength" he breathed to himself "Rather than this arm shit"

He was confident that he had eluded anyone from the store, but he had no clue that he was still being watched by the only pursuer than actually wished him serious harm

"Now how in hell am I supposed to get him to leave his gigai" Kira muttered from her perch a few meters above in a tree "I'm shit with faces, so I'm not sure if that's him or just someone who looks like him, and I don't want to start a slaughter unless I'ma get some results"

The park had a lot of people, some just walking their pets, taking a shortcut home, admiring the scenery, or heading to the shops, like Karin and Yuzu, who were off to Urahara's to get Yuzu's 500 yen super deal

Yuzu caught sight of the Mod Soul and called out a greeting, recalling that he was Layne that Ichigo had introduced at the clinic earlier

The mod Soul ignored her, he didn't care who Trell-san was, only that he was a Shinigami and therefore deserved nothing from him

"Perfect" Kira grinned

* * *

"Shut your trap" Layne snapped at Kon

Layne and Kon were at one end up the park looking around

Ichigo had threated grievous bodily harm to Kon if he didn't shut up about Rukia, and so Layne had seen it necessary to suggest a split up to cover the park more efficiently

But being saddled with Kon was no picnic, and Layne was on the verge of reenacting the stereotypical sushi chef image, utilizing his twin Zanpakuto, speed, and Kon as the sushi

"Look you sexually overcharged lion plush, do you really think it was that easy for Ichigo to just leave Rukia behind like he did?"

Kon stuttered something but Layne paid it no heed

"He spilled.. no we all did, Ichigo, Chad, Orihime, Uryuu, Moll, Yoruichi and I, spilled so much of our own, and Shinigami blood, put so much effort into fighting and training to become stronger and what happened?"

Kon said nothing, and Layne thanked every deity he knew that he was invisible to normal humans during this rant

"Turned out Rukia's execution was ordained by some psycho traitor captain and his lackeys, one of whom being my own ex-brother, Ichigo got sliced in half, and nearly died quite a few times , I nearly lost an arm, a hand, my life on more occasions that I care to count and both of my best friends, I left them behind too, they joined the Gotei 13"

Layne pulled up the sleeve of his Shihakusho and exposed the scar, Orihime having been unable to heal it due to exhaustion

"While you stayed here, reading porn and jerking off with Ichigo's body, so just shut it about Rukia ok?

Layne took a deep breath out and grinned "There, now that's out of the way…"

Whatever he was about to say was cut off by an earsplitting scream in the direction of the entrance

Layne glanced that way, "I think I've heard that voice before"

* * *

"That's Yuzu" Ichigo whispered to himself in horror, the blood draining from his face

* * *

The Mod soul also heard the scream

"It's no business of mine, but I could use the commotion to escape" he contemplated, rubbing Layne's chin in thought

The mod soul shook its head "No way, I can start my new life by helping out anyone I can, running away is what cowardly Shinigami do"

* * *

People were falling, bleeding, limbs severed, and Yuzu couldn't even see why it was happening, unlike Karin who had rushed over to one of the people who's arm simply fell off and looked like she had gotten whacked over the head with something, all Yuzu could do was scream, scream and watch as people got torn apart

Invisible to Yuzu, Kira pranced around, her Zanpakuto flashing and dripping with the mixed blood of everyone the blade had touched

She hadn't had this much fun in a long time, though she hadn't been expecting that one brat to actually see her and rush to stop her, Kira had been so impressed with Karin's bravery/stupidity that she let her off easy, and just conked her with the hilt of her Zanpakuto

But now there was just one person left, the little girl that Kira had noticed as the one that seemed to know her target

"Sorry Girl, but you've served your purpose" Kira whispered to herself, rushing towards Yuzu, but before her Zanpakuto could touch her, The Mod Soul came out of nowhere and tackled Kira away

"Just my fucking luck" he spat, rolling over and standing up "Shinigami turn up when I decide to do the right thing"

Kira picked herself off the ground and a maniacal grin grew on her face "Pretty Ballsy Kid, to attack me in your gigai"

"What the hell are you talking about" The mod soul replied "If I'm not in this thing I'm a little green ball, what the hell is that going to do?"

"What are you talking about?" Kira shot back "I know you're a Shinigami, so hop out of your gigai and show me what you got"

"Don't mistake me for that jackass, I'm no Shinigami, I'm a mod soul"

Kira realized she may of made a mistake "Well, if you're not who I'm looking for, you can just die"

She flashstepped behind him, and the Mod Soul had no chance to get out of the way so he just closed his eyes and waited for death

_At least I'm not going to die in some machine_

Metal clanged on metal and the Mod Soul opened his eyes slowly, realizing that he was still alive

He took in his savior, and blinked twice

"Close one, pretty dangerous" Layne remarked idly, holding one of his zanpakuto out, blocking Kira's Zanpakuto "If you'd gotten yourself killed in my body I would have had to go to Soul Society to kick your sorry ass"

Kira jumped back, and held her Zanpakuto in a ready position

"Well whatever, at least he saved your sisters, right Ichigo?"

Ichigo had flashstepped directly to Yuzu's side, who had fainted from screaming too much

Layne's smile tightened, and faded away and he turned to look at Kira

"I dunno who the hell you are, but I don't like what you've done, so I'll just have to take you out for it"

"You're welcome to try" Kira replied _let's see if he can provide a diverting challenge_

"Alright, Here I come!" Layne shouted, leaping forwards

Kira said nothing, just moved to intercept him, the very beginning of excitement beginning to show on her face

* * *

**a/n - and so concludes chapter 16, its a little rushed i know, but i honestly couldn't think of any reason for Layne to get super super angry at her other than a mass slaughter...**

**more is coming, i'm still going strong**

**apologies to those who are waiting to see their villians, They will be there!, but Kira was just so good she deserves extra writing time XD**

**ummm ummm (desperately trying to think of things to say)**

**anyone do year 12 chemistry? thats my last exam next tuesday and even with the weekend to study for it i'm totally screwed XD**

**i got into Hunter x Hunter recently, badass manga and i definately recommend it =D**

**and if anyone caught the bleach episode today, Senbonzakura reminded me of my little brother, and i kept having the urge to punch my computer screen out XD**

**ohh and most importantly**

**Shiny Green button for reviews**

**Press and leave constructive critcism, or nice criticism, or just nice stuff and i will be fueled to outdo myself =D**

**cyarrs i'm out for another chapter**


	17. Chapter 17: Feelin' Death

**Sup my Loyal and new readers =D**

**quick shout out to Wulf 4 Life, everyone should go check out his new story "Bleach: Parallel Roads" it's shaping up to be freakin kickass. and countingbodieslikesheep's story "Dead Man's Party" i read it once and i'm hooked**

* * *

After exchanging a few blows with that woman Layne soon observed that she was no ordinary foe, to be exact as soon as she leaped at him and parried his initial strike that Layne realized that because she was able to see him, that it was no mentally fucked up cosplayer with a real sword and genocidal intent.

Plus the massive size of her rack, sort of did it in Layne's head. There was no way anyone human had boobs like that, Orihime was close, but the only true rival was that Matsumoto from Soul Society.

"_**Didn't take you for a boob man Layne" **_a voice bubbled up in Layne's head, chuckling

_Where the hell did that come from?_

Unfortunately, while Layne's head was mired in perverted thoughts, and wondering where that came from, Kira had sensed her opponents lack of concentration and moved on the offensive

Layne's right sleeve ripped and nearly fell off as he jumped back from a strike that would have certainly disabled his arm if he had been a little less agile

"It's insulting not to pay full attention to your opponent in a fight" Kira said, grinning, and brushing a few strands of her black hair behind her ears

"What does that matter to you?" Layne retorted, tightening his grip on his Zanpakuto and moving into a ready stance "You'd try and kill me anyway, like you did to all these people"

He leapt forward again, attempting a cross chop which Kira batted away almost lazily

"Heh, weaklings don't deserve my attention, and my massacre had the effect I wanted anyway"

The continued to clash, neither seemingly able to get one up on the other

"Oh?"

"I got you and the carrot-top to show yourselves"

Layne was horrified, so much so that he wrongly anticipated her next move and ended up getting thrown into a tree

"I was just looking for a good fight" she continued cheerfully _Excellent, he's also strong enough_ she thought, finally getting an accurate lock on the level of his reiatsu as he rose it to compensate for her own, slightly bonechilling reiatsu

"Well that was a stupid idea wasn't it?" Layne shot back, slowly rising up "You've guaranteed your defeat"

"Brave words kid"

"Maybe, but I'm going to back them up right now"

Layne sprang forward, but Kira merely dodged him flashstepping behind him and forcing him to do a flip in midair to bring his swords around to block her pitch black Zanpakuto

"Come on" Kira taunted "Hit me"

Layne kicked it up a notch jumping off the ground and using a tree as a springboard to propel himself directly at her

But it seemed to be to no avail as Kira just slashed through him, cutting him in half

Kon, Ichigo and the other Mod Soul looked on in shock

"Dammit" Kira sounded frustrated "I knew I used too much strength in that attack, I've gone and chopped the bastard in half"

"No you didn't" Layne commented, connecting his Zanpakuto with her shoulder leaving a deep scratch

Kira just stared at where she'd chopped him down, and watched at the severed right sleeve of his shihakusho floated to the ground

"Utsusemi" Layne explained for the benefit of those watching on the ground "Yoruichi taught it to me before we left the Soul Society and I've been itching to try it out"

"Stop holding back, come at me full strength"

"But you're holding back too" Layne replied reasonably "If I exhausted myself by blasting away at you, you'd unleash your full strength and I'd lose…and that's not an option"

"Koten Zanshun!"

Layne instinctively moved a sword to block Tsubaki from heading for Kira

"Don't interfere, Orihime" he called, out, glancing to where Chad and Orihime had arrived on the scene, attracted by the Ichigo's monstrous reiatsu surging

Layne would have called the same to Chad, but he had already fired off an energy blast which Kira dodged easily

"Awwww" Kira complained, "Your friends have ruined my fun"

"What are you talking about?"

"It's only natural; those with powerful abilities can't go full out when they worry about injuring their allies… and from looking at those two, they are on a much lower level then you and the carrothead"

"I never planned to go all out from the beginning, so far you've just been wasting my time"

"I'll let you in on a secret kid"

She flashstepped next to him, displaying a much greater speed than before and whispered something in his ear, taking pleasure in the shock that was etched on his face briefly

"Till next time" and she disappeared.

Layne flashstepped down to Chad and Orihime

"I'd go after her…but I have a bad feeling I wouldn't survive" Layne remarked apathetically

If they had known Layne as well as Joel and Moll did, they would have realized then and there that something was wrong with him, but at the moment they were more worried about Ichigo's state of mind, it was his sisters that had nearly been killed after all

The three approached Ichigo and Kon, relieved to see that neither moved frantically, and they took that as a sign that neither Karin or Yuzu were critically injured, Two survivors out of the seventy people in the park during Kira's slaughter

The sun was going down in the distance, and Ichigo turned towards Layne, Chad and Orihime

"…Sorry, Ichigo I couldn't get her" Layne apologized, staring at the ground unable to meet Ichigo's eyes

"Why are you apologizing?" Ichigo asked "You did nothing wrong"

"I'm fairly sure everyone apart from your sisters, is dead" Layne said neutrally, Now that the fight with Kira was over, and the adrenaline faded away, the smell of blood and death filled Layne's nostrils and made him want to puke "And their only alive because of that idiot"

He pointed at the mod soul, staring at them from a little way away

"Um…Kurosaki-kun," Orihime interrupted timidly "We should get out of here before people come and see what happened here"

"Yeah"

Ichigo picked up both of his sisters and piggybacked them

"We should take them to the Urahara's for a memory wipe" Layne suggested

"I'm not wiping my sister's memories" Ichigo replied predictably, "They shouldn't have anything to do with the Soul Society"

"But how will they react, when they wake up, having seen nearly a hundred people murdered and not being able to see who did it?" Layne pointed out flatly "I'm having trouble dealing with It myself, and I saw it, and have an inkling why she did it"

Ichigo ground his teeth and started walking in the direction of the shop

Chad, Kon and Orihime walked after him and Layne turned to the Mod Soul

"Satisfied?"

"With what?" The Mod soul snarled "All I saw was some more Shinigami bullshit and innocent people getting torn apart because of it"

"When you look at it rationally, this is your partially your fault" Layne shot back, sheathing both his katana "Because that madwoman was after me, she naturally assumed it was me in the body and so initiated mass murder as a way of attracting you, who she thought was me, out of the body"

"How is that my fault, it's not like I'm the one that killed all those people"

"But if you hadn't run off at the store, then she could of found me at a less populated area and if you hadn't tried to use the crowd of people to camouflage yourself then it wouldn't of been necessary for her to thin the ranks of people to find you, and there wouldn't of been ranks of people to thin in the first place"

The mod soul was aghast, his shoulders slumped and he sat down on the blood slicked grass

"Your actions, unwittingly have aided in the deaths of these people" Layne concluded _Harsh, but it seems his perspective on the world was still a little one sided, despite his past as a mod soul_

"My god…"

Layne walked over to him and crouched down, putting his hand on the Mod Soul's shoulder

"Don't hold it against yourself" he said lightly "I'm not going to hold it against you and you can be sure that none of the others will either, anyway, you couldn't have known that I was being pursued by some crazy bitch with a sword"

"I…never wanted to hurt anything…I even avoided stepping on all the ants I could on my way here"

"That's dedication" Layne smirked

"Layne… I'm really sorry for all the trouble I caused"

"Heh" Layne stood up and offered the Mod Soul a hand, pulling him to his feet "Just come back and do that Gikon thing for me, it'll settle it for me"

The turned and headed to Urahara's shop, running to catch up with Ichigo, Chad, Kon and Orihime

Kira was elated, First time she had found anyone worthy of being shown the extent of her powers when sealed.

Admittedly neither of them had gone into Shikai, but it was still impressive that Kira marked him down as the first entry in her Fighting Call list for over a century. The fighting call list was like a Booty Call list, except for fights.

She continued flashstepping from building to building, reflecting, as she had on many occasions before, on her exile.

As the Captain of Squad Zero, the elite Soul Reaper squad composed only of Captains and assigned to guard the Royal family, Kira had more than enough power. But being sealed in a separate dimension with the same fifty or so odd people could do strange things to people's heads and Kira had gone berserk, targeting the Royal Family.

Those Guard who had been there since before Kira's Captaincy had opposed her, and Kira had welcomed the opportunity to test her skills, killing at least 5 of the Squad Zero by herself, and her subordinates, both within Squad Zero and those who had remained loyal among the Gotei 13, had accounted for an additional sixty-nine Soul Reaper lives

This was all history though, roughly one hundred and seventy five years ago and none of the current captains aside from Yamamoto, Unohana, Ukitake and Kyoraku would have ever heard the name Kira Reiton

Sadly for Kira though, she hadn't even faced the most powerful of Shinigami. Yamamoto, and a much younger Kyoraku and Ukitake had travelled to the King's Dimension to stop her.

Kira was one of the true witnesses that could attest to the fact that Kyoraku and Ukitake were the strongest captains when they fought together

And having lost to them, she awaited execution in a cell with her subordinates for years that she didn't bother to count, when orders came down for exile, rather than execution, and power limiters were placed on her, and her followers and they were kicked out into the living world

It was a strange order, especially exiling them to the living world, rather than the Dangai Precipe World, but Kira hadn't particularly cared, viewing it as a chance to get stronger and take revenge on those captains who had exiled her in the first place

She reached her building and once again kicked down the door to enter it

"Your back early Kira" One of her subordinates commented, surprised at the time of the entry, but not the method

"His friends showed up" she said shortly "It would have been boring because he would have had to hold back the entire time"

"Lucky then, Jankz is here with his report, and it's gone and got Maikeru excited too, Daisuke and Tsubaki are down in the basement with them"

"No Ren?"

"Still in Soul Society, apparently one of the gates they'd been using was under surveillance and Ren remained behind to clear it of suspicion"

"I see, cheers Emi"

Emi Etsuko and Daisuke Hayato were Kira's last Ex-Royal Guard. They had been in the Guard after Kira was promoted to its captaincy and so had felt completely loyal to Kira during the rebellion, and still did so now

Tsubaki Tomaharu was a strange case, once Kira's Lieutenant when she had been in the Gotei 13, when Kira was promoted and Tsubaki was introduced to her replacement, one Shinji Hirako. She had served adequately until Kira put her rebellion into motion. Seemingly psychically Tsubaki had lost it, and went out on a rampage, singlehandedly taking out fifteen seated officers of the various divisions, and another forty unseated Shinigami. It had been concluded that she had been aiding Kira was thrown in with that lot.

Ren and Jankz were two relatively young Shinigami who had joined Kira's group very recently, Jankz twenty years ago, and Ren fifteen

Jankz had been the Soul Reaper assigned to an area of Okinawa, during the period that Kira's group had their hideout there. A man with a thirst for power, he had seen Kira's instantly, despite its limited state and been mesmerized by it. He acted as Kira's main spy for the Soul Society, and received favors for it, both sexual, and special training sessions which had allowed to him to hide the fact that he could fight at a lieutenant's level from his captain, Kenpachi Zaraki for twenty years.

Tsubaki had saved Ren from a Menos during Kira's group's stint in Tokyo and brought him to the hideout. Ren was loyal to Tsubaki, and shit scared of Kira. His services were the same as Jankz.

Maikeru Takeda was the strangest of them all. He was the only one who was not Shinigami, but a special form of human known as Bount. Kira had found him as he lay on the brink of death in some alley. Saving him had been a huge benefit to her, as his reiatsu sense was more accurate than the most powerful shinigami's, and his gate was currently the best way to get back to Soul Society for her, Emi, Daisuke and Tsubaki.

Kira strode into the basement, looking around at Daisuke, Maikeru, Jankz and Tsubaki as Emi trailed in after her.

"So Jankz…What have you got for me" she said seductively

"You'll love this, Kira" he replied, grinning as he began delivering his report

Once Urahara had modified Ichigo's sister's memories, Layne, Chad, Orihime, Urahara, Yoruichi, Ichigo, Kon, The Mod Soul and Tessai were in Urahara's ubiquitous sitting room talking about today's events

"I've never heard of a red Shinigami uniform before" Urahara mused, chin in his hands "I'm sorry, but I can offer up nothing as to her identity or motives"

"Damn" muttered Layne "She says she's just looking for a good fight… and kills seventy innocent people to get to me"

Layne pounded his fist into the ground "I really, really don't like that woman"

Jankz concluded his report, and Kira was amazed at the happenings

"So, Aizen, Ichimaru and Tousen allied themselves with Menos and fled the Soul Society" Emi whistled "That is some news, but it doesn't explain why you were so excited before, Maikeru"

Maikeru smiled, A weird creepy smile "I was so involved with the politics, of your Soul Society that I couldn't contain my excitement at such a pivotal event happening within my own, admittedly nigh endless lifetime" he spoke sarcastically, and it was obvious to everyone

"Jeez there's no call for sarcasm" Emi shot back, annoyed

"I was more interested in the descriptions of the Ryoka that Jankz-kun detailed for us"

"Say it again?" Daisuke asked, "I wasn't listening for that part"

Jankz looked at Kira, who nodded

"There were a total of seven Ryoka that invaded, apparently with the objective of rescuing Rukia Kuchiki from execution by Sokyoku" Jankz began, passing them 8 hand drawn pictures

"Moll Rone is the dark skinned girl, with black hair, I don't know how she got her Shinigami powers and I didn't personally witness her Zanpakuto in action, but I have heard it is called Sora and carries power over the air. She remained behind in the Soul Society and is the new 3rd seat of the 4th division"

Jankz then pointed to the picture of the cat, and a picture of a dark skinned woman with long purple hair

"That's Yoruichi Shihoin, Ex 2nd Division Captain and leader of the Onmitskido, she can morph into a cat, but I couldn't steal any information about her fighting capabilities other than she is still the fastest Shinigami there ever was, and is a master of hakuda"

The last five pictures were the interesting ones

Kira had seen four of the people they depicted, and Maikeru was practically salivating over the last one

"Yasutora Sado, Orihime Inoue, Ichigo Kurosaki, Layne Trell and Uryuu Ishida"

"Those two are the guys I wanted to fight today" Kira said pointing at the rough sketches of Layne and Ichigo "And those other two interrupted us" she finished, pointing at the sketches of Orihime and Chad

"The 12th division research labs didn't have much information on those four" Jankz apologized "Apart from their names… Kurotsuchi must be getting slack"

As a point in fact, Kurotsuchi hadn't gotten slack, he just didn't want to risk doing his usual style of research on them while the rest of the Soul Society held them in such high regard

"Whats the deal with the last guy?" Emi asked, pointing at Uryuu's sketch

"There was a ton in there on him" Jankz grinned "He's the last Quincy"

There was a sharp intake of breath as Kira, Tsubaki, Daisuke and Emi absorbed the impact of that statement and simultaneously glanced at Maikeru, who really had started salivating.

The key part of the Bount's gate into Soul Society was the energy fired off a Quincies arrow.

If Maikeru didn't have access to that, then there was no point in even starting the gate, so he had been fruitlessly searching for a Quincy for years to power it before he started work on it.

Kira had to restrain her excitement too… The second she, Daisuke, Emi and Tsubaki got into Soul Society, the limiters on their power would become inert and useless…and they would be able to achieve Kira's revenge

"How long will it take for you to set the gate up, before we require this Quincy?" Kira asked Maikeru

"I've got all the materials lying around, so about a month, but I will require sample of the Quincy's reiatsu in about two weeks" Maikeru replied

Kira's grin grew even larger as she realized that she would get to fight Layne again, and possibly Ichigo… and this time, if their friends interfered, they sealed their own fates

* * *

**a/n - dun dun dun duuuunnnnn (however you type thhat sound effect xP)**

**Hope your enjoying it, i liked this chapter personally. and i hope i've done the backstory good enough on the villians**

**Shiny Green Button opens up review window**

**don't ever drink 3L of green cordial at once, even if your mate tempts you with an alexisonfire CD **

**you will feel the aftereffects in about four hours**


	18. Chapter 18: Baseless Facts

**a/n - Yo**

**it's holidays and i'm recovering from a post exam induced hangover... really not much to say here **

* * *

The growling of a Killswitch Engage song broke through Layne's thoughts as he lay on his bed staring up at the ceiling, in his body but wearing only trackpants

Kira's last words floated through his head "I've been limited to twenty percent of my full strength for nearly two hundred years now… and of that, I only used forty percent total, until just now" she had whispered to him

Layne had to do a little math to work that one out… "Base strength one hundred units…twenty percent is twenty units…forty percent of twenty is five units of strength" he muttered, then stopped as Elias the mod soul rolled over on the floor next to his bed, sound asleep even through the screaming of Layne's music

Layne had a few odd plushies hanging around the place and had settled on a old bear that Layne's father had given him before he moved away

Satisfying himself that Elias was still asleep; Layne sat up in his bed and sighed "Five percent, No Shikai…and I was still forced to use Utsusemi…"

Layne forced himself to get up and go get a drink of water

As he flicked the light on, he caught sight of two strange things

One, even though Kira's sword hadn't touched him at all, there were all manner of cuts and bruises over his chest

"Guess that's my own fault for holding back my defense well as my offense" Layne muttered "But they are only appearing now? And my Shinigami uniform wasn't ripped at all except for the sleeve"

Two, the dark green 'X' symbol that decorated his hollowfied hand in his Shinigami form was beginning to show through on his body, looking like some wierdass tattoo

"Fuck, I thought Urahara fixed that"

The next day, unfortunately was a school day, so tired as all hell Layne dragged himself out of bed, showered , chucked on his uniform and headed out the door with a piece of toast in his mouth

He made it through Urahara's store with little incident. Aside from Tessai attempting to fob off some anti-tiredness remedy onto him.

The box itself looked like it went out of date before Layne was born, so he just tossed it aside and headed to school, sticking his earphones in his ears and tuning out the world around him.

_Now this feels real familiar…tired as fuck, earphones in, walking to school…hell all I'm missing are Moll and Joel_

He caught sight of Uryuu rounding a corner and jogged to catch up with him, flipping out his right earphone so he could talk to him

"Hey dude" Layne greeted, falling into step with him "Where were you yesterday?"

"Yesterday?" Uryuu replied, his tone one of confusion

"At the park… didn't you feel my fight?"

Uryuu's expression became confused for a split second before it turned into that usual Uryuu arrogance

He pushed his glasses back up his nose "I was taking care of the hollows while you and Kurosaki fooled around"

Layne detailed yesterday, not fooled by Uryuu's bluff at all. _He just doesn't want to admit that he was sleeping on the job_

Uryuu however, was shocked, though he was careful not to let any of that show through to Layne, who Uryuu had observed kept up that façade of laziness to fade into the background without being noticed, and was actually just as world aware as anyone.

_I'd seen it on the news…but I didn't connect that everyone's reiatsu signatures at the same park could have been related._

"That woman…" Layne said, the uneasiness in his voice at odds with the calm way he walked "We'll need your help if she shows up again dude"

Uryuu blanched, what the hell was he supposed to do? Throw needles at her?

They made it to school, surprisingly early in Layne's case… who in all known instances from kindergarten to year 12, had never made it to school earlier than the bell, assuming he turned up at all that day

Unfortunately the hollow alarm sounded just as he was about to sit down

Layne sighed, white mushroom cloud style and extracted Elias' green pill from his pocket, popped it and jumped out the window in Shinigami form

"What a waste of time" Layne growled, not even bothering to unsheathe his Zanpakuto and just punching through the hollow's mask, using his hollowfied hand _I gotta admit, this whole one shotting weak hollows thing is pretty boring…could it be that I'm actually feeling the urge to not be lazy!?_

He returned to class, entering his body and causing him to spit the pill out , by this time class had started and everyone was in their seats, so Layne leant across and whispered to Ichigo "Next one is yours"

"_**So much for not being lazy"**_

_Ok, now this shit is just weird, I'm pretty sure everyone else's head voice sounds exactly like their own, so stop screwing around_

"_**Make me"**_

Layne shuddered, distracted from his conversation with himself by the feeling that Joel was doing something really, really dumb

Joel _was_ doing something really, really dumb

Currently running like hell with an unconscious Nemu over his left shoulder and Riku's Shikai in his left hand, he wondered for the very first time, if being Ukitake's lieutenant was more dangerous that being in the 11th division

At least in the 11th division they didn't send you on the Captain ranked missions if yours was down due to illness

Kenpachi never got sick

And they couldn't send another Captain, because Joel had Bankai, so it would miraculously be ok

The one concession that Joel had been allowed was bringing Nemu along, though she hadn't been much help, the rockfall from a misaimed Cero striking her head and knocking her out.

Which was a shame, because for some insanely gay reason, Joel couldn't make an injury on these particular Menos and Nemu may have been able to work it out

He had tried both Riku's blade, and his Formation attack, but either these Menos's reiatsu was so well hidden that Joel couldn't sense the massive amount that would be required to reduce his attack strength to nothing, or there was something else at work

Joel nimbly dodged another Cero from one of the Menos

_Alright, fuck this_

Joel turned around and rose Riku into the air

"Hang on Nemu" he whispered "This might get rough"

To the Menos, who probably didn't understand at all he simple spoke one word

"Bankai"

Joel's reiatsu swirled around him and compressed tightly around his body, kicking up dust and small rocks

"Riku's Path – Way to the Dawn!" Joel intoned, holding the aptly named Way to the Dawn out in front of him

Unfortunately, Way to the Dawn bounced off them just as easily as Soul Eater had

"Aww Balls" muttered Joel

So once again he was running from these Menos

"Why can't I injure these guys" he growled as he ran down a narrow canyon, with three of them behind him "Their reiatsu signature doesn't match up with their defenses at all"

Joel was about to exit the canyon when a fourth Menos appeared from around the corner, Cero fully charged

Joel's thoughts miraculously turned back to the only useful thing that Jed had ever said to him

"When you're about to get totally fucked, the words you should use are 'Slut faced motherfucker'

Joel decided not to, and instead was totally prepared for when four Cero's hit him straight on

Inside the thick walls of earth raised by Way to the Dawn, Joel weathered out the Cero storm, looking at Nemu who he had placed on the ground

"What would you do if you were in my place Nemu…would you use _that?"_

The Cero storm suddenly stopped, and the presence of a familiar reiatsu nearby gave Joel pause

"What the hell is she thinking!" he exclaimed, picking up Nemu and exploding from his barriers "Oi Moll!"

Moll ignored him "Hado no 31: Shakkaho!"

A red ball of fire shot from her outstretched hands and exploded on contact with the Menos closest to Joel's makeshift fort

It's reiatsu shifted and Joel sensed that something had finally penetrated it's defense

_What the hell, even my Bankai bounced right off it, what the hell has she got that can do it_

"Joel!" Moll shouted at him "They are weak to Kido, so start using it"

Joel stopped dead and slammed the side of his fist into his open palm "I never thought of that" he said, an expression of surprise taking over his features

Moll sweatdropped

_This guy was only without me for about a fortnight and it's already made him retarded_

"Hado no 4: Byakurai!" Joel attempted to shoot it from the tip of his index finger but it curved around and exploded behind him

"Shit"

"Retard, you know you aren't any good with Kido, so don't skip the incantations" Moll screeched at him, irritated

"But there's no time for incantations" he called back, dodging another Cero "And if you don't start using them we'll be here forever"

"Well then" Moll smiled, standing up from her perch and drawing her Zanpakuto "I'll just eliminate the need for incantations"

"Rise Inside: Sora!"

Moll's standard katana vanished and Sora appeared in its place

"So you release your sword" Joel deadpanned

"Tornado!" she called, aiming it not at a Menos but blowing Joel out of the path of yet another Cero

Joel managed to gain some traction and stopped moving before he got blown into a wall

"You don't really know what Sora's abilities are, do you Joel?" Moll asked, flashstepping next to him

Joel raised walls of earth again to block the Menos' Cero's while they talked

"Been too busy to see you spar"

"I haven't actually released Sora in any of my spars, since all unseated guys I spar with would probably die"

"We should probably start fooling around, what does it do?"

Moll pretended to look hurt, but Joel wasn't falling for it

"There are Four Menos Grande out there looking to devour us, I can't hurt them, you can and all you want to do is gloat, well if you manage to defeat them, then gloat all you want but for now, just fight"

Moll dropped the façade and began to explain

"In addition to Sora's wind abilites, It also focuses and refined the power of any Kido I use, so it's pretty much the power of a Kido with incantation if I don't use the incantation"

"Ever tried using the incantation with Sora out?"

"My body can't handle the power during incantation" Moll said flatly "I can do a Sho, but anything above that is damaging tried to do Hellflame Inferno once and broke two bones in my hand"

Joel whistled, Sho was a level 1 but Hellflame Inferno was only a level 6 Hado, so he'd hate to see what would happen if she tried using Shakkaho, a 31 let alone her favorite spell, Raikouho which was a 63

"I'll distract them and try to give you some openings then"

"Expect to receive a massive gloating after this"

Joel laid Nemu on the ground and kicked a hole in his earth walls, the Menos having given up a couple of minutes ago

"Assuming I do my job well enough that is"

Joel moved out the hole he made and Moll followed him

_I hope he doesn't ever find out I partially lied about my body not being able to handle the power of Sora's amplified Incantation Kido_

Moll cast her mind back to a couple of days ago… _That training room had collapsed, and Hellflame Inferno shoots out like a beam_

Moll shook her head when Joel called angrily from outside

"I'm coming goddammit!"

Twenty minutes later Joel, Moll and Nemu headed back to the Seireitei

"Thanks for your help Moll" Joel said "I don't think I would have gotten out of there without getting injured otherwise"

"Don't worry about it"

"Now you can explain to me… Why you were out there on a Captain Rank mission, and how did you know that they would be weak against kido?"

"Idiot, I was looking for you, today's my promotion ceremony and you have to be there or I'll kick your ass from here to Layne"

"Speaking of Layne, aren't you going to get him to suffer through this as well"

"You know the only thing that could get Layne to suffer through something like this would be someone with authority and the power that Layne can respect and unfortunately none of the captains I asked to help out were willing to go along with my plan"

Joel chuckled "I guess not"

"As for how I knew… There was a small hollow yesterday, that 11th division got really busted up fighting because it could change its reiatsu so all physical attacks bounced right off it, but when I arrived on the scene to do some battlefield healing, but it was defeated when it went after me and I used Sho, to attempt to push it away"

"I don't get it"

"By forcing all your defenses into the one band, you neglect your defense for everything else" Moll explained "Shinigami don't need to do this as we are generally resilient enough to absorb anything at least once, whether it's physical or reiatsu based…but for hollows that will die from one slice of a sealed Zanpakuto or a weak kido burst, being able to become practically invincible to one particular type of attack, but extremely weak against another is good against people like you, me and the 11th division who only rely on pretty much one type of offense

"How did hollows get that smart?"

"Must be Aizen teaching them tricks and shit"

"If that's the case, there are still plenty of people that can take out one of those Menos by themselves though"

"Probably not"

"Yes there is"

"At the most, there's probably about twenty-seven"

"Only?!"

"All the captains and lieutenants, excluding yourself, Captain Kenpachi, Omaeda, and possibly Captain Komamura, and since I'm not sure whether he can do kido or not makes twenty –two, Layne, Ichigo, Chad, Yoruichi, and Urahara"

"You actually did the maths"

"Shut it"

Moll sighed, she walked right into that one

"Well, I guess we'll just have to team up against Menos from now on" Joel grinned, and grabbed Moll around the shoulders

"Idiot, Nemu can take them out by herself, stay teamed up with her"

Nemu glowed with appreciation at Moll, and Moll winked at her, but both actions went unnoticed by Joel.

Moll and Nemu returned to their respective divisions, and Joel headed to 13th where Ukitake had recovered a little, and was finishing off the day's paperwork

"Oh, Captain, feeling better?"

Ukitake smiled and gestured to Joel's own mountainload of paperwork

Joel's smile became rather fixed

_It's confirmed, being Ukitake's lieutenant is more dangerous than being in the 11__th__ squad_

A hell butterfly flew through the window and landed on Joel's head, instantly transmitting it's message

"There's a combined Captain-Lieutenant meeting being called" Joel relayed to Ukitake "Says Urgent, and its combined by Captain Kyoraku and Head-captain Yamamoto… and for your ears apparently its got something to do with Kira?"

Ukitake went white(er) and Joel just looked confused "Kira? Why would we talk about him, unless he's obtained Bankai and going for captaincy of 3rd"

It had been nine days since Kira's rampage and Ichigo was going crazy

"GAH!"

Ichigo and Layne were sitting on a bench outside Urahara's store, Layne had cleverly brought a book, and his mp3 player to pass the time, but Ichigo hadn't expected to be waiting there for three hours

"Why has this bastard benched us!" Ichigo growled

Urahara had asked Ichigo and Layne to remain behind, while Chad, Uryuu and Orihime went out and did some searching

"So Kira would come straight here when she senses both of our reiatsu;s leaking like crazy" Layne said shortly, standing up, snapping his book shut and pushing himself out of his body

"Shit, a bunch of people are coming this way" Ichigo muttered, standing up and pushing himself out of his body and hiding it inside the store

Layne sighed

_Is this guy really ok?_

Five people appeared in the sky above the store, one of them holding Uryuu

_Ready Roxas?_

"As much as I can be"

_Then let's get this done!_

_

* * *

_

**a/n - Slightly less hungover now so i think i'll speak a little more**

**Yeah i've been changing the ways reiatsu can be used in this fic a lot, none of it is canon at all, but i did feel the need to pump up the Menos Grande's power levels a little bit, or we could just have ordinary Shinigami running around one shotting them -_-**

**Hope your enjoying it, this chapter was a little harded to push out so i apologize for the length of it**

**uhhh... happy april fools though i'm either 1 or 2 days late depended on your timezone**

**Review button isn't green anymore =( but you should press it anyway =D**

**if in doubt change your name to steve**

**Cyarrs next chappy**


	19. Chapter 19: Resistance to Fear

**a/n - Welcome to chapter 19**

* * *

***Four Days Earlier***

Layne went flying through the air, propelled by Getsuga Tensho

"Dammit" Layne growled, jumping to his feet after a hard landing against one of Urahara's rocks

"Come on Layne" Ichigo called, resting Zangetsu on his shoulder "Kon could have dodged that one, don't tell me that your giving up already"

_What the hell is going on? I saw it coming, but I just couldn't move_

* * *

A little way away, Urahara and Yoruichi watched the two of them spar, Ichigo totally destroying Layne, even though at this point, with both them in Shikai, their power levels should have been roughly equal

"He's scared" concluded Yoruichi, narrowing her eyes "He can't even move at a tenth of his full speed, and hasn't managed to avoid any of Ichigo's attacks"

Urahara watched as she got up, waiting for the other shoe to drop

"It occurs to me, Kisuke… that we don't know anything about what makes Layne over there tick, we don't even know if he knows that he's scared"

Urahara nodded, but turned away from Ichigo and Layne's spar

"As important as that is, you still haven't told me what you found out from the Gotei 13, and you got back yesterday"

Urahara sounded miffed, but since the Soul Society hadn't been able to provide really any information during the official session, the only thing she had got was a vague account from Kyoraku and Ukitake, Yoruichi felt they shouldn't take it easy

_Wait a minute, maybe that's what's gotten Layne so scared_

"Back in a sec Kisuke" and Yoruichi flashstepped next to Ichigo, whispered something in his ear and flashstepped back to Urahara, sitting down, detailing most of the information she got in Soul Society,

"Soul Society has agreed to lend their aid in this, but I got the feeling that Yamamoto, Ukitake and Kyoraku were holding something out on us"

"So who are they sending?" Urahara asked, pulling out a piece of paper and a pen and staring at it, preparing to make some notations on it

Yoruichi gave him a wtf look and snatched the paper from his hands

* * *

Shinigami Zanpakuto Bankai Phrase

Yamamoto Ryujin Jakka … "Reduce all Creation to Ashes"

Sasakibe Gonryomaru --- "Bite"

Soifon Suzemebachi Jakuho Raikoben "Sting all Enemies to Death"

Omaeda Gegetsuburi --- "Crush Them"

Kira(Izuru) Wabisuke --- "Raise Your Head"

Unohana Minazuki … …

Isane Kotetsu Itegumo --- "Run"

Moll Sora --- "Rise Inside"

Hinamori Tobiume --- "Burst"

Byakuya Senbonzakura Senbonzakura Kageyoshi "Scatter"

Renji Zabimaru Hihio Zabimaru "Howl"

Komamura Tenken Kokujo Tenken Myo'oh "Roar"

Iba … --- …

Kyoraku Katen Kyokotsu … Flower Wind Rage and Flower God Roar, Heavenly Wind Rage and Heavenly Demon Sneer

Ise … … …

Hisagi … … …

Hitsugaya Hyorinmaru Daiguren Hyorinmaru "Sit Upon The Frozen Heavens"

Matsumoto Haineko --- "Growl"

Kenpachi --- --- ---

Ikkaku Hozukimaru --- "Extend"

Yumichika Fuji Kujaku --- "Bloom"

Yachiru … --- …

Kurotsuchi Ashisogi Jizo Konjiki Ashisogi Jizo "Rip"

Nemu … --- …

Ukitake Sogyo no Kotowari … "All Waves Rise Now and Become my Shield, Thunder Strike Now and Become My Blade"

Joel Riku Way to the Dawn "Make Your Choice"

Layne Roxas Final Form "Drift"

Ichigo Zangetsu Tensa Zangetsu ---

Sexy Shopkeeper 3 Benihime … "Awaken"

* * *

"A list of the current Captain's, Lieutenants and other people of the equivalent fighting level" Yoruichi assessed, scanning the list

"Since someone spilt milk on the digital copy I was working on, I had no choice but to use the paper" Urahara deadpanned

"I already said I was sorry, but that's no excuse for signing yourself as Sexy Shopkeeper"

"Yes it is" Urahara replied curtly, snatching the paper back from her

"What was with all those blank spaces" Yoruichi couldn't resist doing a little teasing "Not having all the information doesn't sound like you at all"

"Well obviously the Lieutenants and Seated officers don't have access to Bankai, with the exception of Abarai-san and Bluzer-san, and Kurosaki-san has no need to release his sword, so I've detailed it with dashes where a section doesn't apply and dots where I either don't have the information, or felt there was no need to place it there"

Yoruichi nodded and returned to watching Ichigo and Layne spar, "I don't know who they are going to send, but I'd hazard a guess that it will probably be either Renji or Joel, maybe even a Captain"

"Hmm"

* * *

Ichigo took in what Yoruichi had whispered to him and smirked

She vanished and he turned to Layne

"So, that woman Layne, she was pretty terrifying wasn't she"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"It's obvious now, the reason your fighting so badly is cause you've been scared shitless by that woman who nearly killed my sisters"

"You seem to be taking that pretty lightly yourself" Layne pointed out, raising an eyebrow "Don't insult me like that if you're completely calm"

"That's what pisses me off about you" Ichigo said, pointing Zangetsu at Layne "I've never seen you get angry once, are you even human?"

"I'm not going to fall for it no matter how much you insult me; I don't get angry because I don't want to, and that's all there is to it"

"Well, whatever"

Ichigo suddenly launched himself at Layne, swinging Zangetsu in an arc that would of cut Layne in half had he not brought Oblivion up block.

As it was, the sheer force behind the blow threw Layne to the side, forcing him to roll and stand up again to regain his balance

_He's going all out, but I still should have been able to at least block that effectively… What the hell is going on!_

"Hey, are you serious? I thought this was just practice"

"What's the point of practicing if you don't go all out?"

Ichigo pointed Zangetsu forwards and placed his free arm against his sword arm

"Bankai!"

This was the first time Layne had ever seen Ichigo release his Bankai, so he watched in amazement as Ichigo appeared from a pillar of smoke, his oversized meat cleaver having shrunk down to the size of a daito and his clothes had changed to a long a sleeved coat with a red inner lining, that was ragged and torn down near his feet

More importantly, Layne could actually feel the raw power radiating from Ichigo now

"What's that, you're moving even slower than before" Ichigo said with a smirk…from behind Layne

Layne's eyes widened in shock and he ducked and jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding Tensa Zangetsu

"Holy Shit, are you trying to kill me!"

"I'm going to force out whatever it is that's wrong with you! Getsuga Tensho"

Layne couldn't move fast enough to avoid the blue crescent of energy and it caught him straight on

He coughed up some blood and knelt down

_This might really be it, Ichigo's serious and I can't seem to summon the strength to fire off a Rain, let alone use Bankai… I should just admit defeat and get the hell out of…_

"What the hell am I thinking?" Layne muttered, picking himself up

"Fine Ichigo, I'm scared shitless of that woman" he called out "I've never met someone who could kill so indiscriminately…and she was strong too"

Ichigo used his hyper speed to appear next to him "How strong?"

"She said that she'd been using five percent of her total strength" Layne said, simplifying the figure to save some time "Until that very last flashstep where she got close to me"

"And you believed that?"

"Of course, the only way I could have gone faster than that was if I was in Bankai"

"Then next time it happens go Bankai, so what if she can go even faster"

_That's right…I'll never know until I try_

As soon as Layne realized this, he immediately felt like something had removed a weight that was around his heart, and he could suddenly feel like something was still weighing down his arms and legs

"Zangetsu told me…" Ichigo continued "That I should forget fear, to look forward, walk forth and never ever stop, because that fear will cause death"

_How come Roxas isn't that philosophical?_

"Ichigo… can you just wait for a second, I need to talk to Roxas"

Ichigo nodded, and Layne sat down on the ground, thinking as hard as he could of that barren lake

* * *

He suddenly appeared in the very spot he had been thinking of,

"Well this is a nice change from waking up on the ground" Layne muttered to himself "Now where in hell is Roxas?"

Layne stared around, but the only defining feature of land was the two trees on one end of the lake

"That's where we usually talk"

Layne headed for the trees

* * *

Ichigo watched as Layne simply sat there, eyes closed

_Do I look like I'm sleeping when I'm in there too?_

The area darkened and Ichigo turned around, seeing a familiar sight

_That's a…Senkai Gate!_

Ichigo turned around to catch a flash of long white hair, and pink cloth

_Kyoraku-san and Ukitake-san…what could they be doing here?_

* * *

Layne arrived at the trees and did a full 360, attempting to spot Roxas, or that weird Carbon Copy of himself that had been here last time

"Guess I might just have to make some noise to attract some attention then"

Layne outstretched his left hand, and with a flash of white light, Oathkeeper appeared there which a relief was, because Layne hadn't been sure it would

"You got three seconds to pop out from wherever you're hiding dude" Layne called out

Nothing happened

"Alright then"

Layne jumped into the air and turned towards the lake

"Riptide Strike" he shouted, swinging Oathkeeper in a straight arc down, aiming for the trees, being the only thing he could really destroy

"Three…Two…One…Rain!"

_Excellent, I didn't think I'd be able to do it_

The familiar green crescent of energy shot downwards and looked like it was about to destroy the tree when something came out of nowhere and somehow sliced clean through the energy

Layne looked closer

_Black…Oathkeeper?_

"Nice Layne, just nice" Roxas complained, dismissing the strange keyblade and watching as Layne landed next to him "You interrupt a guy as he's sitting on the toilet? I know you really hate that, so why do it to me?"

"You better not be pissing and shitting in my reiatsu pool" Layne growled, Black Oathkeeper forgotten with that comment

"Of course not, now what's up?"

Layne took a deep breath

"How come you're not inspiring like Zangetsu?"

Roxas facefaulted

"That's the most dumbassed question I've ever heard"

"Then help me out" Layne said with a grin "I'm scared shitless of that woman, it's not a totally paralyzing fear, but I wasn't even sure I could do that Rain from just before"

"Have you ever really felt fear before?"

Layne thought back

"I've been afraid but never like this"

"That's because you've only been afraid for stupid shit like 'Am I going to get caught', that's nothing like proper fear, Fear for your own life, Fear for others"

"What about in Soul Society?" Layne argued "I nearly died quite a few times there"

"But were you ever truly afraid?"

Layne shut up and just listened

"In the Soul Society, I was doing all I could to support you, but I didn't need to because you believed in your cause and it didn't matter to you whether you died or not, so therefore that fear for yourself was extinguished. Your fear for others only extended to Joel and Moll… One of whom you beat yourself and the other was never in any danger at all, because she was either with Yoruichi, Yourself, Joel, or saved by Ukitake, so you had no reason to fear for your friends"

"But what about Ichigo and the others, why didn't I feel fear for them"

"You were nowhere near as close to them, as you are now…and therefore could insulate your heart from them"

Layne sat down, absorbing this

"But at that park, you saw Ichigo's reaction to his sisters very nearly getting torn apart by that woman, felt the fear for Orihime and Chad as they threw their attacks at her, the fear that she might turn her attention on them"

Layne recalled that moment and realized that his heart had stopped for a couple of seconds but he had been to adrenaline pumped to notice it at the time

"So…what do I do about it then?" Layne asked slowly "If I can't fight effectively, then I'll be no help to anyone"

"Master the Fear" Roxas said with a grin "Place it with your anger, hate, disappointment and failure"

"How?"

"It's like you said to Ichigo, that he needs to believe in his friends more… you do the same, They will all do exactly as well as you expect them to"

"But what about me"

"You can't tell yourself my life doesn't matter, because even if it doesn't to you, there are people who will be devastated if you died, even more people than just Moll and Joel since you came to this place, but what you can do, is make sure that you are doing your utmost to surpass your friends expectations, and never look back, too much self reflection leads to no confidence"

Layne stood up, and despite his status as Layne's Zanpakuto spirit, Roxas got the feeling of standing in front of a burst dam

"Thanks… Roxas" he said, vanishing from the inner world, just as easily as he had entered it

* * *

"That guy" Roxas said, shaking his head

"_**For his sake, you'd better hope he'll be ok" **_The Carbon Copy said, coming around from behind one of the trees with his arms folded and grinning widely

Roxas summoned the black Oathkeeper and handed it to the Carbon Copy

"_**If you could just use Oblivion, I wouldn't have to lend this one to you every time that guy shows up with Oathkeeper"**_

"You're too noisy" Roxas said, looking out across the lake

_Layne… you must become stronger!_

* * *

"Ichigo!" Layne called, rising up, the heavy feeling completely gone from his body

"About time"

"I've gotten rid of it" Layne said, grinning and cracking his neck

"Gotten rid of what?"

"That useless fear keeping me down"

Layne raised Oathkeeper into the air and tightened his reiatsu into a tight shell around his body

Ichigo raised his own reiatsu to equal Layne's rising levels

_He wasn't kidding when he said he was strong_

"No holding back right?"

Ichigo nodded

"Bankai!"

Layne's reiatsu charged the air and green bolts of it crackled through the dust cloud that he had raised around him

When the cloud cleared, Ichigo was extremely surprised to see that the only physical change to Layne was the addition of two gloves that appeared to be made of thin glass and filled with water

"Come on Ichigo, let's spar!"

* * *

Urahara, Yoruichi, Ukitake and Kyoraku watched them in surprise, having sensed the Bankai release

"He managed to achieve that in three days" Yoruichi told them all, "Without access to your three-day method Kisuke"

Ukitake and Kyoraku looked suitably impressed, and Urahara only smiled his usual mysterious smile

"Still think it won't be enough then" she asked "Even with Layne apparently back at full strength, if his Bankai is anything to judge it by"

Ukitake shook his head, looking sternly at the other three, "I can't believe that Yamamoto-sensei is entrusting Kira's defeat to the Lieutenant-rank, capable though they may be.

The reason Kyoraku and Ukitake had snuck away from the Seireitei was to provide Urahara, Yoruichi, and Ichigo's group with all the information, not just what Yamamoto would let be dredged up from the Seireitei's history

Having been the ones who had taken her down at the height of her power, Kyoraku and Ukitake understood full well just how much threat Kira posed to the Soul Society.

"Yade Yare" Kyoraku said lazily "I forgot just how much trouble opponents that forced us to go full strength were, eh Ukitake?"

"We were fighting Yamamoto-sensei just recently" Ukitake pointed out

"I got very drunk afterwards; you can't blame me for not remembering"

Ukitake sighed

* * *

Ichigo and Layne were both exhausted, and covered in injuries from where they had been testing each others endurance

Layne's swords had reverted to their sealed form and Zangetsu was back in Shikai, and the two lay back down breathing heavily

"Water…and compression… huh?" Ichigo said, taking deep breaths in between his words

"That…black…Getsuga…is…no…picnic…either" Layne replied

"Yade yare" Urahara said, appearing next to them "Some of those injuries will require Inoue-san's attention; I hope you two didn't overdo it"

Layne and Ichigo turned their heads and looked at Urahara's training ground

For a fifty metre radius from where they had been fighting, all the rocks had collapsed and the land was basically flat and featureless now

"I think we may have over done it just a little"

_If Spirit of Seas counts as overdoing it, than yes, yes we did_

"It doesn't matter, I'm glad to see that you are yourself again Trell-san"

Layne grinned and then grunted in pain as one of the wounds on chest suddenly spurted blood

"How about, getting Orihime here then…before I bleed out" Layne asked weakly

"Of course, and then we'll sit down with Ukitake-san and Kyoraku-san and they will tell you and Kurosaki-san about that woman you faced in the park…her name is Kira"

Layne was glad he had a name to put to that face, constantly referring to her in his head as that bitch felt like an overuse of the word

"_**But she had a really, really nice rack"**_

_Quiet you, whatever you are_

Urahara had picked both him and Ichigo up and was heading towards the main room of the store so Layne didn't bother to complain, he probably couldn't even move anyway

_Kira huh, so that's who it is_

An image of Kira's orange eyes, and pure black Zanpakuto flitted though his mind

_Kira, the person who taught me fear_

**a/n - how's that? I thought a little flashback might replenish my mojo... it also helps that i got more than four hours of sleep last night XD**

**The list is as Urahara knows it at this current point in the story, meaning he has no idea as to the Bankai's of Yamamoto, Unohana, Kyoraku or Ukitake, and Ikkaku and the zanpakuto's of Nanao, Yachiru, and Iba. nor anything about Hisagi's release**

**Which allows me to get a little creative =D or i could just wait for Kubo-sensei to give us the official stuff...which would probably be better than whatever i could cook up by myself XD**

**Reviews, reviews are always appreciated i like reviews =D**


	20. Chapter 20: Ambush Complete

**a/n - Sup =D, lotta time switches in the chapter, so pay attention cause i sure as hell hope i marked em all XD**

* * *

***3 Days after last chapter***

Layne rolled out of bed and groaned as his head impacted the speaker next to his bedside table

"Goddammit!" he yelled as he looked at the clock, which had the glowing red numerals of '6:02'

"Shut the hell up!" Ichigo shouted out, from Joel's old room, exactly next door

"Oh right, I forgot I wasn't alone in my own house anymore" Layne muttered to himself

Urahara had asked Ichigo to stay at Layne's house because Urahara had reinforced his basement with Sekkisekki stone after Layne's first Rain had torn right through it. So now the basement was pretty much invincible to reiatsu based attacks, and it already dampened reiatsu, and was immune to collapse, earthquakes and any other random natural disaster that might occur

Which meant it was the perfect place to stay off Kira's radar until they were ready

A little school skipped was fine, seeing as Kira was an ancient renegade that was more powerful than most of the current captains so Ichigo and Layne had spent the last two days sparring and training… even if they couldn't beat her by themselves though she was sealed at 40%... there was help coming from Soul Society, and Layne, despite not being that interested in fighting simply for the hell of it, thought it would be badass to fight alongside the likes of Byakuya… or Kyoraku and Ukitake

Since they still had no idea as to Kira's motives other than she was interested in Layne and Ichigo. Chad, Orihime and Uryuu still went about their normal lives, Orihime stopping by in the evenings to heal everything

Seeing as he was awake already, there was really nothing to do except eat breakfast and go outside

* * *

Layne sat on top of one of the canyons watching his house, with a glass of orange juice and a huge stack of toast on a plate

_Good thing I made all this toast, I'm freakin' hungry_

Layne reached for another piece of toast, but frowned as his hand felt no resistance

He patted his hand around and eventually felt a leg… and the plate the toast had been on

He spat out his orange juice and turned to see Yoruichi finishing off the last piece of his toast

"Good thing you made all that toast Layne, I was really hungry" Yoruichi thanked him, in between bites

Layne's mouth started moving, but no words were coming out

"That was good toast"

"Oi, that was _MY _toast" Layne growled "But I'm more amazed at how fast you ate the toast"

"Well" Yoruichi replied with a smirk "I'm still the Goddess of Flash"

"Ahh…no…I don't think you…" Layne demurred, waving his hand and looking away "Either way, why are you down here so early? It's like six in the morning"

"It's closer to eight… making all that toast takes time you know"

"That didn't answer my question"

"Kisuke wants to talk to you and Ichigo"

"Why didn't he come down here himself?"

"He's a lazy bastard"

_So am I!_

But Layne knew that point wouldn't go over well, so he just downed the rest of his OJ and followed Yoruichi

* * *

***Present***

"Oi, oi Ichigo" Layne said, a hint of worry coloring his tone "They've got Uryuu"

"But…I still feel Chad and Orihime…weren't they all together?"

"It doesn't matter" Ichigo told him "As long as they aren't hurt"

Layne shook his head, indicating a negative for that

"Why would they just grab Uryuu and leave the others unhurt though?" Layne wondered

"I already said" Ichigo said calmly, reaching up over his shoulder and pulling Zangetsu free from its ribbon sheath "That it doesn't matter"

Layne unhooked both of his katana from his shihakusho and tossed them to the side

"Drift, Roxas!"

Oathkeeper and Oblivion appeared in his outstretched hands and he grinned at Ichigo

"Your right, I suppose it doesn't"

They turned to look at the sky, where Kira and the four people with her stood

"Let's go" they unintentionally said in unison, kicking off from the ground and launching themselves upwards

* * *

Kira and co watched the two of them flying upwards

"Heh, you gonna take them both on Kira?"

"Gotta finish up all my fights here before we go to Soul Society and these two…are the last two alive" Kira replied "I think I might enjoy this"

* * *

Layne and Ichigo stood on the same level as Kira and her friends

"This shouldn't have to be said, but we should get Uryuu out of there before we go all out" Ichigo muttered to Layne

"That, is a no brainer"

"OI!" Layne shouted in Kira's direction "We're right here… so come and get us"

Kira grinned "Let's make this last"

She leapt at the two, who split up, Ichigo moving to intercept Kira's blade and Layne jumped to the side and flashstepped forwards, aiming for the creepy looking guy, with dark blue hair, camo pants, a featureless black undershirt and an unzipped loose dark green jacket, who was currently holding the unconscious Uryuu

Layne aimed a side cut, intending to disable his arm but was shocked when the guy merely sidestepped it and countered with a snap kick to Layne's jaw

_What the… I should have been moving far too fast for any of these sealed Shinigami to avoid_

"Oi, Takeda!" Kira shouted, as she exchanged blows with Ichigo "Send him back here, without hurting him too badly

Takeda nodded and turned to Layne, who was still dazed from the kick

"If you want to rescue your friend, you shall have to defeat Kira-san… and then the rest of us"

"Why don't I just start with you" Layne replied, straightening up and attempted an overhead slash with Oblivion

Takeda merely caught the black keyblade and extracted a yoyo from the inside of his jacket

"Show yourself, Sai"

The yoyo rose up into the air, and Takeda let go of Oblivion, enabling Layne to stumble backwards as the Yoyo transformed into a white, featureless marionette doll

"What the hell…that's not a Zanpakuto" Layne said, staring at it in confusion

Takeda grinned

"No, it isn't…Sai!"

Sai extended its arms and suddenly Layne felt restricted and unable to move

"What's going on?!" Layne shouted "I can't move!"

"Sai" Takeda repeated, gesturing to where Ichigo and Kira were fighting

Layne began walking, somewhat jerkily in that direction

"You can control my movements huh?" Layne assessed

"Precisely" replied Takeda "I shall relinquish them back to you as soon as you are ready to fight with Kira-san, because although I could control your movements to fight with Kira-san, that control is nothing compared to the instincts and reactions of a true swordsman"

Layne finally made it close to the fight and he felt control return to his limbs

"But… I don't want to fight, I'd rather free Uryuu" he shouted, turning around

"Riptide Strike: Rain!"

The green crescent of energy shot forwards, threatening to envelope Takeda and Sai

"Riptide Strike: Rain" Takeda parroted, and Sai generated a similar green crescent from the arc of its kick

Sai's Rain cleaved Layne's in two, and the two halves passed harmlessly over, and under Takeda

"No way" Layne said, his shock clearly visible on his face

"An explanation at this point would be pointless" Takeda said arrogantly "Suffice it to say, that I may regain control whenever I want to at this point in time, so the only choice you have… is the one Sai gives you"

Layne turned around involuntarily and was given control back of his movements, just in time to duck a swing from Kira that would have lopped off his head

"Don't tell me you two are afraid of a little two on one" Kira taunted Layne, and Ichigo who came up beside Layne

"The way I see it" Layne muttered "We take them down one by one… we got no other choice"

"Yeah" Ichigo replied "With both of us, this should be no problem"

"Then let's go!"

"Wait up," Kira said "If you two have finally decided to get serious, then I guess I can finally get serious as well"

"Huh?"

"Kill, Kira!"

_Her Zanpakuto has the same name as her?_

Kira's Zanpakuto changed shape from an ordinary sized katana, to an overlarge, scythe shaft, with three massive black blades on each side of the shaft, which itself was colored black

Layne gasped and pointed at it with Oathkeeper "That thing's freaking huge!"

Kira grinned maniacally

"Come on, if you two don't use your Bankai, then this will be no fun for me at all"

* * *

Down at the store, several Shinigami watched the fight for a while, noticing how Ichigo and Layne were just holding their own against Kira's gigantic Zanpakuto, and there were four other guys still hanging back

"Them having Ishida wasn't in our expectations" one of them noted

"Screw it" another said "Let's go!"

* * *

"Extend! Hozukimaru!"

"Howl! Zabimaru!"

"Growl! Haineko!"

"Make Your Choice! Riku!"

Ikkaku, Renji, Matsumoto, and Joel appeared from where they had been hiding, along with Hisagi and Nemu, who didn't particularly feel the need to release their Zanpakuto

Ikkaku collided with a guy with spiky black hair, wearing an ancient and faded Shinigami uniform, who drew the Zanpakuto hanging over his back just in time to avoid being impaled by Hozukimaru's blade end

Matsumoto's ash surrounded the small girl in black jeans, pink tank top, and blue jacket, which made an incomprehensible sound, drew the Zanpakuto hanging over her back and sprayed some kind of liquid from the oddly patterned blade, neutralizing the cloud of ash

A girl with dark brown hair, wearing tight blue jeans, and a green t-shirt knocked Zabimaru out of the air before it could hit Takeda and jumped at Renji

"Earth's Power: Formation!" shouted Joel, bringing the tail of collected earth materials around to where Zabimaru had been a second ago

"Sai" muttered Takeda

Sai jumped in front of the Formation, taking it head on

While Takeda was distracted with Sai's battle, Nemu relieved him of Uryuu and disappeared, setting up a silent cue for everyone to jump back, surrounding Kira's group

"Alright" Layne said, with a grin "Ambush complete"

"So was that you getting your ass kicked up there Ichigo?" Renji asked "It sure looked like it"

"Shut the hell up, I didn't notice you up there fighting with that gigantic scythe" Ichigo replied

"Only because it would have been over too fast"

"Yeah with you on the ground"

The tension was palpable

Ichigo and Renji jammed foreheads against each other

"Wanna fight?" they snarled in unison

The sweatdrops on the back of Layne's, Joel's, Ikkaku's, Matsumoto's and Hisagi's heads were probably visible from the ground below

"How about you fight with me?" Kira snarled "That's the only reason I came here"

"Kira-san" Takeda interrupted "I must respectfully request that we stop playing around… the Quincy is now out of our hands"

Kira shook her head "What!"

"Guess we won this one" Layne grinned "I'm not sure why you wanted Uryuu, but with him safe and the seven of us here… I guess you're screwed"

Kira growled "Why don't all seven of you come at me at once and we'll see just how screwed I am"

"Kira-san!" Takeda repeated, more urgently than before "We must retreat, based on the restrictions to everyone's except my powers, currently those seven would win in an engagement"

"Going to run huh?"

Kira growled "Daisuke, Tsubaki, Emi, Takeda"

"Yes, Kira-san?" The four replied in unison

"Carry me home… Mi Gai Dageki!"

Three black energy spheres were hurled from the top of Kira's scythe pole at the group

They scattered, but the spheres followed them, one aiming for Joel, one for Renji and one for Ichigo

Out of the corner of his eye, Layne watched as Kira collapsed, and her four minions grabbed her and bailed

_She must have put all her power in that move_

But the orbs still chased their targets, quickly gaining on Joel, who was the slowest of the three at flashsteps

"Dammit!" Ichigo shouted "Getsuga Tensho!"

The blue wave of reiatsu cleaved through the orb chasing Ichigo, and by pure coincidence, the one chasing Renji too

But the third one was just about to catch Joel

Layne knew that there was instantly only one thing to do

A small explosion engulfed the area around Joel, and when the smoke cleared, Joel was amazed to see that he was completely unharmed; he hadn't even felt the orb touch him

Because it hadn't

At the very, very last microsecond, Layne had jumped in between Joel and the orb, taking the full force of the blow

The explosion had blown off the top half of his shihakusho, and the entire front of his body was covered in blood

He fell to his knees and began coughing and spitting out a fair amount of blood, before looking up at everyone, who had rushed to his side

"Guess… I owe that bitch one now too, eh Ichigo?"

"You…you jackass!" muttered Joel "I coulda taken that one, but nooo Mr I'm going to sit myself on top of a goddam reiatsu explosion and say some dumbassed line like that…

Ikkaku and Ichigo went to lift Layne up and carry him down to the store, but he stood up

"I'm fine, takes more than some 'Goddam Reiatsu Explosion' to keep me down"

All of them headed down to the store with Joel still muttering under his breath "Look at me, I'm Layne… I'm just so much faster than everyone else, so I'm going to leap in front of a goddam bomb and pretend to be perfectly fine"

"Screw you" Layne replied "I can hear you perfectly"

"Thanks you idiot"

Layne smiled

"Was that so hard?"

"Don't make me start muttering again"

* * *

***3 Days before***

It had totally blown Layne's mind when he had walked through that door, and seen Joel, Hisagi, Matsumoto, Ikkaku, Nemu, and Renji sitting around the table with Urahara

"What are you guys doing here?" Layne asked, sitting down at the table, next to Joel

"We're your backup" Joel explained "Captain Ukitake and Kyoraku have joint command of this operation, so I'm down here, and I asked Renji and Nemu to come with… and Renji asked Ikkaku… and Nemu asked Matsumoto and Nanao… who Captain Kyoraku was deadest against coming, so Hisagi came instead

Layne's gave them an odd look…because they were all doing a weird group pose "Is this some kind of in-joke I should know about?

Layne blinked and they were all back in their seats

"What are you talking about Layne?" Joel asked

"Uhh…nothing"

"Anyway" Urahara cut in "Let's discuss tomorrow, I have an idea how to lure them out

Everyone leaned forward and listened, even though Layne couldn't get the odd image of Joel handstanding on Nemu's shoulders out of his head

* * *

***Present***

Layne was getting bandaged by Tessai and Ururu, and everyone else excluding Uryuu, Nemu, Urahara and Yoruichi were sitting around Urahara's ubiquitous table

"So that failed" Joel said "Anyone else got an idea?"

* * *

Uryuu and Nemu were sitting in a side room

"I know" Nemu said unemotionally

"Know what?"

"That you have lost your powers as a Quincy"

Uryuu looked shocked

"H..how did you find out?"

"During your battle with Mayuri-sama, I observed after you exited the final state, you could hardly maintain your Ransotengai"

"Have you told anyone?"

"Only Joel"

"Good, do not tell anyone else"

"It wouldn't matter"

Nemu reached inside her uniform and extracted a small bracelet, and passed it to Uryuu

"This is…" Uryuu muttered, completely stunned

"A Quincy artifact, used to simulate Quincy powers for the elderly and infirm…or those that have lost their powers, I Stole it from Mayuri-sama…as an apology for the loss of your powers"

Uryuu breathed again

If anyone had found out that he had lost his powers, he wouldn't have been able to be of any use to Ichigo's group at all, and he didn't like the idea of knowing that shit was going down, and not being able to do a thing about it

Even though all he had done today was get caught, though that could be attributed to the loss of his powers

* * *

In one more of those dark corners of that hugeass basement, Urahara was working at a computer while Yoruichi lazed behind him

"So what's the big deal about pulling all this Bount information up now?" Yoruichi asked idly

"One of the people with Kira" Urahara muttered "He was using a Doll"

Yoruichi sat up and stared at the screen

"And if she has a Bount with her… he's obviously strong, and under no power limit"

"That's not what worries me"

"Oh?"

"What worries me, is that Bount can use Quincies powers for some of their special techniques…and a gate to Soul Society"

"But you told me that Uryuu had lost his powers as a Quincy"

"They don't seem to know that, and from the wire's I've got going through the Shoten… He just regained them in some form

* * *

"How would Kira have known that Ichigo and I can do Bankai?" Layne muttered in his sleep "She's supposed to have been cut off from all contact from Soul Society for ages"

* * *

"Dammit Jankz, Yumichika" Moll cursed "I didn't really want to deal with your 11th division shit tonight"

Moll was in the 4th, patching up Jankz and Yumichika, who had been at the center of an 11th division drinking brawl that day

"It was a most unbeautiful injury, but you have healed it beautifully" Yumichika thanked Moll

"Keep it up, Yumichika, I'll break your other arm" Moll growled

"And what about you, you jackass" she turned to Jankz "Jumping in the way of Captain Kenpachi's blade… you trying to get yourself killed?"

"I thought healers were supposed to be sweet and kind" Jankz joked, good naturedly "You should take after Lieutenant Isane, or Captain Unohana"

"I try" Moll admitted "But both of them could probably kick your asses a lot better than I could"

Jankz and Yumichika gulped at the thought of fighting Unohana, and Moll exited the ward, chuckling

* * *

**a/n - Finito... XD, slowly working my way through this arc... i really want to get to the arrancar arc... i got some excellent ideas for it, but i'm motivated to kick some... i mean finish this arc then go there XD**

**...check out drabble collection... and review both or one or w/e**


	21. Chapter 21: Logic Leap

**a/n - Sup guys, 15 document limit aye, you learn something every day -_- XD**

* * *

"So seeing as we didn't get to do any catching up yesterday, or the day before" Joel said with a grin "Here I am"

"Shouldn't you be out looking for Kira?" Layne asked blankly

Joel chuckled "Are you kidding? After you got busted up we decided to hang back till you got better" he leaned in conspiratorially and whispered "You and Ichigo made some friends in the Soul Society that last time around, it's a mark of their respect for you that they'll keep from moving while one of you is injured"

Layne was genially touched "How'd they know that Ichigo wanted to be the one to get that woman"

Joel shrugged "More importantly, she passed out after that Mi Gai Dageki thing that blew you up, so she's probably moving less than you should be"

The weirdest part of that attack Kira had thrown at Layne is while the explosion was real flashy and all, it hadn't injured Layne that much, until he had gone to be patched up and he suddenly lost about two liters of blood from wounds that just spontaneously opened

"I told you, I let my reiatsu soften and the wounds opened up; no big deal" Layne replied, almost predictably

Joel shook his head,

_Typical Layne, jackass won't admit he's injured until you poke your finger through the hole in his hand_

The two of them, were sitting on the floor of Layne's living room, with the music blaring out some Soilwork.

Layne was wearing a pair of blue shorts and a blank grey shirt which did little to hide the bandages all over his upper body and vaguely keeping in time with the music by tapping his hand on his also bandaged knee, Joel in contrast was in a black and white checked hoodie, long grey shorts and staring intently at a brown and white checked board on the ground in between them

"I know Rangiku-san said to wait till she got here, but I want to start now" Joel muttered

"What are you talking about?" Layne asked slightly alarmed "What about Matsumoto, isn't she staying at Orihime's?"

The front door burst open behind them, and Layne turned to see Matsumoto, Nemu, Ikkaku, Hisagi and Renji walk through, the latter three all heavily laden with shopping bags full of clothes and sake bottles

"What the hell?" Layne exclaimed

"Alright punks! Move all the clothes to my room, and the sake to the kitchen

"Yes ma'am"

Ikkaku, Renji and Hisagi all sighed with strangely visible white mushroom clouds, and moved up the stairs and down the hall

"Wait, wait" Layne stood up and walked over "Just what is going on?"

Matsumoto looked at him blankly "Didn't you say we could stay here?"

Layne glared at Joel who fidgeted with the shirt of his gigai "I might have said something along those lines… but hear me out"

"I'm listening"

"Well Matsumoto was going to stay at Orihime's but it turns out Orihime got kicked out of her place, so I said you'd be cool with her having Moll's old room"

"Nemu?"

"Urahara swore that he wasn't having anything of Kurotsuchi's that might have a secret trigger switch to go nuts and kill him within a two kilometer radius"

"And the other three?"

"Hisagi could have stayed at Chad's but Rangiku-san wanted him at the party, and Urahara wouldn't have Renji or Ikkaku either"

Layne's mind fixated on only one of the words

"Party… so that's why you pulled out the board" Layne said with a grin

Layne turned to Matsumoto "Go ahead and stay in Moll's old room"

She smiled at him and went to join Hisagi, Renji and Ikkaku in unpacking her clothes and Layne turned to address Nemu

"I have no clue what room your staying in, but you can go dump your things there"

Nemu gave him a tight smile and went to Joel's room

Layne watched her choice of room and shook his head

_Perverted Thoughts… must stop perverted thoughts_

**_"But they are sooo fun"_**

_Shut the hell up_

He walked back over to Joel and sat down "Come on Joel, its two thousand years too early for you to be thinking that you can beat me at Shotglass Checkers"

"That was before we came here" Joel replied, getting up and going around the other way into the kitchen "I've gotten a lot stronger since we came to this place, with all these drinking occasions that Rangiku-san likes to have…even if It is only sake, hell I don't actually remember the three days after you left Soul Society

Layne sweatdropped

_He says it like it's a good thing_

"Oi" Joel called from the kitchen "Did you move the stash?"

"Nope" Layne replied, listening as Hisagi, Ikkaku and Renji trudged down the stairs, with the huge load of sake "It's in the other cupboard"

"Ah"

Joel returned to the living room with two bottles and a pack of twenty-four clear shotglasses

"How did you know I was looking in the wrong cupboard?"

"You've done it every single time you go to tap the stash, why should now be any different?"

Joel opened his mouth as if to say something, but then closed it as he realized he had asked that question more times than he could remember

''Anyway… do you remember the rules?"

"Please, it's only been about a month since we last played… ordinary game of checkers, if you lose a piece you take a drink, and if you lose the game you drink all remaining pieces on the board… as I recall it's an instant hammerer"

Joel was done setting out the glasses so Layne grabbed the bottle of clear gin and started filling up his own pieces, while Joel took the brown bottle and filled up his own

"This is for all the humiliation I've suffered at your hands Layne, it's a shame Moll isn't here to see me finally kick your ass"

Everyone else that was going to be staying the night at Layne's place entered the living room with the biggest load of alcohol Layne had ever seen outside a bottle-o

"Anyone vomit's and they clean it up themselves" he warned them, before turning back to the game

"It's a shame Moll isn't here to see my hundredth win to be honest Joel"

* * *

The next morning Layne walked down from his room to look upon the chaos that was last night

He, Matsumoto (who had an inhuman tolerance for the stuff, somehow making it into bed without vomiting, despite drinking more than Layne, Renji, Ikkaku and Hisagi combined) and Nemu (who was genetically designed to process most poisons without being affected) had been the only ones to make it to a bed last night, crawling, stumbling, and walking normally in that order

Joel was completely screwed up, having lost the first game of Shotglass Checkers, and then idiotically demanding another one.

Layne grinned, despite what his headache said, he'd only ended up drinking eight shots of gin, and possibly one of those sake bottles that had been brought

The door opened and Layne winced as it connected with the wall, the small bang become hyper enhanced and sounded like a mortar fired off right next to his head

"What the hell…Ichigo?"

"Sorry for intruding" Ichigo greeted walking through the threshold into the house, and then jumping back in surprise as he saw Renji, Hisagi, Ikkaku and Joel all passed out in the mess that was formerly known as Layne's living room "Whoa, what the hell happened here!" he exclaimed

"We had a few drinks…and drinking games" Layne admitted "I'm not exactly sure why, but I had to allow it when I realized my championship at Shotglass Checkers was getting challenged"

Ichigo sweatdropped "Is that really what you should be doing while you're injured?"

"Oh that?" Layne replied and pulled one of the bandages on his arm off "Fully healed!

Ichigo stared in amazement

_This guy's recuperative ability is amazing_

"Anyway" Layne continued, "What did you come down here for? It probably wasn't to view the results of our drinking sesh"

"Ah, I came to ask you guys to get up and get moving, we're going out today to search for Kira"

Layne glanced at his living room… then at Ichigo… then at the living room again

"Nemu can go now, Matsumoto in about an hour, me in two, but I don't actually know if those four will be good for the rest of the week"

* * *

They all left Layne's house in just under an hour and a half, turns out Matsumoto had some miracle hangover cure that woke all of them up and told their headaches to get stuffed

Outside the store, they rendezvoused with Chad, Orihime and Uryuu and were just about to get moving when Layne realized he was missing something

"Oh Goddammit"

Everyone looked at him quizzically

"You guys go ahead; I need to go get my other Zanpakuto"

He ran back through the store, jumped down the hatch, not bothering to waste time with the ladder

* * *

The sky darkened, signaling the telltale opening of a Senkai gate, but the person closest to it was currently occupied with other things, so Rukia stepped through it without anyone noticing at all

Unluckily for her, she didn't notice the closest person was quickly approaching her at a dangerous velocity

"I forgot the drop was so fucking long!" Layne shouted as he fell through the air into the underground basement…landing on top of Rukia and creating a huge cloud of dust

"Ouch" Layne kept repeating as he picked himself up

Rukia's fist connected with his face

"What the hell are you doing!"

Layne stumbled backwards and got a look at who hit him

"You're…Rukia!"

"What in God's name were you doing Layne?" Rukia growled at him

"I was going to get my other Zanpakuto" Layne explained "Everyone else is going out to search for Kira and I left one of them behind like some kind of dumbass…" he trailed off

Rukia meanwhile was laughing "You left your Zanpakuto behind? If I don't take into account that your only sixteen, that's would be a pretty idiotic thing for a strong Shinigami like you to do"

"Left only one… left one behind … THAT'S IT!"

His sudden exclamation shocked Rukia and made her shut up

"What's it!"

"I was wondering how Kira knew Ichigo and I knew Bankai" Layne explained excitedly "It wasn't too much of a worry how she knew the find us, because Ichigo couldn't hide his reiatsu to save his life… but then she told us to use Bankai yesterday… and that made no sense because she's supposed to have been cut off from contact from the Soul Society… at least that's what we were told"

Layne began pacing in front of her while Rukia's expression steadily changed from slight confusion to full blown WTF

"It's most definitely a spy in Soul Society" Layne mused "There couldn't honestly be any other way"

For the second time that day, Rukia's fist connected with Layne's face

"Slow down!" she fumed "And explain just who this Kira is!"

"Why are you here if you're not here about Kira?" Layne asked "That's the current 'thing' now right?"

"I was ordered down here to take back my old position… and cleanse hollows; I don't know a thing about this 'Kira' you're talking about"

_That's right… this is probably restricted information to lieutenants and above_

"Look I don't have time to explain right this second" Layne said hurriedly "Can you do one of those weird gatey thingies and get us to Soul Society, and I'll explain as we run through that weird Kouryuu current place"

"You've done that before?!"

Layne looked at her blankly "The way you're saying that makes me think that there's another way to do it"

"Hell Butterflies"

"Whatever, get a couple of those things here and I'll go get my other Zanpakuto so we can go and find this guy"

"Why do you have to come?" Rukia asked, as Layne began running off

Layne turned around "Because, I don't think anyone is going to take kindly to the idea that one of their squad members is betraying Soul Society"

* * *

Above in Karakura town, Layne's absence hadn't gone unnoticed by everyone, who had split into several groups to make covering the entire town easier

One such group consisted of Ichigo, Hisagi and Uryuu, in the northeastern corner of Karakura

"Kurosaki!"

"What? Ishida?" Ichigo replied, irritably

"There's someone coming" Hisagi said lowly, placing a hand on his Zanpakuto

"Well, well" One of Kira's goons said, coming around the corner, lifting her deep brown hair from her eye line "Thanks for bringing the Quincy to us, that saves us the trouble of going to look for him"

Ichigo pulled Zangetsu from his back and pointed it at her "He's staying right here"

"Aww, don't force me to fight you guys" she pouted

In response Hisagi unsheathed his Zanpakuto and Uryuu generated his spirit bow, Pre-Sanrei glove form

She sighed and drew the Zanpakuto that was attached to the hip of her jeans

"Well before we get fighting, what are your names?"

"Ichigo Kurosaki"

"Uryuu Ishida"

"Hisagi Shuuhei"

"Oh" The girl grinned "I'm Emi Etsuko, and this is my Zanpakuto… Bite the Moon in Two, Enkaiookami!"

* * *

In the South-eastern corner, Joel and Nemu were wandering along a strangely deserted back street, when another of Kira's people jumped down in front of them

They both went to combat positions immediately but the guy held up his hands

"Guys, guys, you don't have the Quincy with you so I don't really have to fight with you"

Joel eyed his stance and his shihakusho "Then why show yourself to us at all?"

The guy grinned, his deep blue eyes reflecting the sun as he tilted his head back a little

"I'm here because I love fighting and you" he said pointing at Joel "Look like you could give me a good run"

Joel thought for a second "Alright then, you don't look like you would let me past to go help my friends anyway so…"

"Alright!"

The guy pulled a large nodachi from behind his back "Die and be Reborn, Kaen Toreitai!"

* * *

The north-western corner, in contrast to the other two, was quite busy, so Ikkaku and Renji had to use Hoho to walk on the air, a few meters above the crowds

One of the crowd below however, was staring up at the sky, able to see the both of them perfectly

"Let's give them a surprise, eh Sai?

* * *

In the very last corner of Karakura, the Southwestern one, Chad, Orihime and Matsumoto were lost, and arguing (at least Orihime and Matsumoto were) about just where exactly they were

"Gah, youss don't even look like youss are trying to look for usss" a slightly serpentine voice sounded off

The last of Kira's five friends appeared behind them, but it hadn't been her that had talked, rather the hilt of the huge Zanpakuto she was holding upside down… it was a Snake

"Is this one of them, Rangiku-san?" Chad asked, forming the Right Arm of the Giant

"Yes" answered Matsumoto, pulling Haineko free from the sheath at her back

"Good"

Without warning, Chad unleashed an energy blast from his arm, startling everyone, including Kira's friend who dodged the blast, but not before it scorched a huge part of her blue jacket

She inspected the burn, and her face contorted into an expression of rage

"Jacket…Burn…You…Death!" She choked out, grabbing her Zanpakuto by both hands and charging forward

"Atta girl Tsssubaki!" the hilt shouted "Ssshow them the prissse of becoming enemiesss of Tsssubaki and Sssendo Hebi!"

* * *

"Goddammit" growled Layne "How in god's name are you supposed to extricate yourself from these stupid things"

Rukia couldn't help but laugh at the strange sight presented in front of her

The way to use a hell butterfly to go through the Kouryuu Currents is to merge temporarily with the butterfly so it guides your Soul to the other side

Once you were through, you just needed to unmerge with the hell butterfly

Hence, Layne's head and shoulders on the ground, crushing one of those innocent hell butterflies

Layne turned out to be unable to extricate himself fully, while the process was similar to removing a soul from a gigai, Layne had never done it manually, always with the assistance of a gikon, Urahara's cane or Substitute badge

"Come on now" Layne said to Rukia, exasperated "This is a serious problem!"

Rukia calmed down a little and was only slightly giggling

"Maybe if you only had one Zanpakuto like the rest of us your spirit wouldn't be so heavy"

"Low blow"

"Not as low as you are at the moment" Rukia said, then burst out laughing again

Layne sweatdropped

_This humor is horrible_

_**"You're damned right; gag this one if we ever bang her"**_

_What the fuck?_

Layne shook his head "Just help me out of here!"

* * *

A couple of minutes later, a fully whole Layne walked away from a very relieved hell butterfly

"If I was an angry guy" he said slowly to Rukia, still giggling "I would be pretty angry at you right now"

They turned the corner into a typical Seireitei walkway, with a few Shinigami going about their business

"Let's flashstep, this sort of thing is important information" Layne decided out loud, before disappearing

"Wait, Layne!" Rukia called after him "You still haven't explained about the traitor!" she yelled before disappearing also

* * *

At the end of that alley, two Shinigami watched as Layne and Rukia rounded the corner, and then both disappeared after a few words

"How about that Ren" Jankz said, "They know there's a traitor here in the Soul Society, do you think Kira flat out told him because she thought he was going to die?"

The Shinigami called Ren shook his head "No, Kira wouldn't of been so idiotic, it's more likely she let off a chance remark about something she couldn't of known about unless she was acquainted with events here… and they picked up on it"

"Well, if that's the case, then we should really do something about it" Jankz said, standing up "Hang here and I'll go kill those two"

Ren stood up also, but pushed Jankz back to the ground "No, I realize, Archepel that you have been thirsting for a good fight since Ikkaku Madarame left to join the 'Kira Hunting Squad'"

Ren cracked his knuckles, and moved his head from side to side, eliciting several loud snaps from his neck

"But that guy isn't someone you would be able to beat with just pure brute strength… you need variables, changing battle conditions, a way to keep him off balance"

"So?" Jankz asked, looking unimpressed

"I'll do it you idiot" Ren replied irritably

"Coulda said that from the start"

* * *

**a/n - 21 (whistles a small victory tune) ahh a decent milestone to have achieves don't you guys think?**

**and still going strong**

**When you picture Chad taking his shot at Tsubaki, do yourself a favor and play "Dominio Del Chad - Shiro Sagisu", it's the Chad theme from the anime, and it fits that scene perfectly XD**

**and no Ren isn't an idiot... but Jankz seems to be the type to be a pain in the ass**

**R&R kgo =D**

**till next time, cyarrss**


	22. Chapter 22: Fist of the Mountain

**a/n - *waves* Hey guys, last chapter for a little bit as i get stuck into school again -_-, gotta put my serious face on and actually attempt to pass my HSC**

**So the speed of my updates will slow a little, unfortuantely just as i'm getting into some of the good bits -_-  
**

* * *

Layne and Rukia flashstepped from building to building, Layne keeping a significant hold on his speed so the slower Rukia could keep up, and listen to his explanation

"And so you think this Kira has a spy here in Soul Society?" Rukia asked, finally getting a glimpse of insight into Layne's thought process

"I know this information was probably restricted to Lieutenants and above" Layne said grimly "But if Ichigo was willing to risk all our lives to save you, then trusting you with this is nothing"

Rukia was amazed at the seeming depth of Layne's loyalty

"You really trust him don't you?"

"Ichigo? Of Course"

* * *

Joel and Daisuke faced off

Seeing Daisuke starting off released, Joel realized he'd had no choice but to follow suit and called for Riku, and the two had clashed, trading a flurry of blows before they sprang apart and stood at their original positions

"You're pretty good" Daisuke acknowledged "This might be a lot of fun" he added, bouncing a little on his feet to keep moving

Joel in contrast, stood stock still, holding Riku tightly at his side

"I don't think I'll end up having much fun at all, fighting right here while I know my friends are fighting against your friends"

Daisuke shook his head "No, no, no, you should enjoy the fight, wherever you happen to be, whoever you happen to be fighting, whatever the reason for it"

"Maybe, but the reason I became strong was so I could stand with my friends… fighting is something I'd rather avoid if it's possible"

"I'm not here to change your views, I'm just here for the fight… but since you don't like fighting… I guess I'm just going to have to force you into it"

Daisuke disappeared from Joel's sight, and the next thing he heard was a sharp intake of breath from behind him

He whirled to see Nemu gasping for breath as Daisuke's Zanpakuto was withdrawn from her stomach

"What the hell are you doing?" Joel screamed, making a mighty leap and landing at Nemu's side, narrowly missing Daisuke with a slash "I'm the one you're fighting with!"

Daisuke disappeared and once again was in his original position, this time playing with the hilt of his Zanpakuto

"Don't worry, Kaen Toreitai's blade is so hot, whatever I cut is instantly cauterized, so no messy blood leakage… she'll be fine… if you can get her to medical attention in time"

Joel ignored him and knelt down beside Nemu, grasping her hand

"Dammit Nemu… seems your always getting screwed wherever we go eh?"

Nemu looked up at him "You do not need to concern yourself with me, Joel… I will survive at least forty-eight hours without medical attention"

"That's not the point… You shouldn't have to get treatment for serious injuries every time you come out with me"

Nemu didn't respond

"Listen up" Joel said decisively, "Hang tight, here… I'm going to break this streak of horrible luck… here and now"

Joel stood up and turned towards Daisuke, who was surprised to see that Joel was seemingly unshaken by an unprovoked attack on his partner

"Finally ready to fight?"

Joel walked forwards a little, and smiled

"I suppose I should thank you"

Daisuke signaled his confusion by raising an eyebrow

"You were right… I should enjoy fighting, If I'm the one fighting, it means I'm the one that gets hurt"

"That's one way to look at it"

"And if I'm the one that gets hurt, then it's my choice to use whatever the hell I need to, to beat you"

"I'm not entirely sure if I'm going to like this"

"If I wasn't under the same power limiter you're under, then yeah, you might not like it… but as it is… well, at least you'll have a chance to fight back"

Daisuke's grin returned full force

Joel also grinned, but his was cold, like the expression of someone who just saw you kick their puppy and stand there laughing at them

"Bankai!"

* * *

Ikkaku and Renji jumped to the side at the very last second, narrowly avoiding having a white missile rip their arms off

"What the hell was that?" asked Renji unsheathing Zabimaru

"I don't know, but it's coming back!" Ikkaku shouted, ducking so the missile passed over their heads

This went on for about ten minutes, and finally, Renji had enough

"Howl, Zabimaru!"

Zabimaru extended on a direct path with the missile, connecting just before Renji completely extended the base segments, and knocking it aside

It span in midair, and suddenly stopped moving altogether, extending its arms and limbs to reveal that weird doll thing from the fight above the store

"I must say" A voice announced from behind them "I never expected you to actually be strong enough to turn aside Sai's Missile Attack"

Renji and Ikkaku turned their heads slightly to see Takeda walking towards them, zipping up his dark green jacket and smiling at them

"So this is your Zanpakuto" Renji growled

"Zanpakuto?" Takeda asked, feigning surprise "Nothing so crude, this is my Doll, Sai!"

Sai suddenly leapt forward, but was intercepted by Ikkaku

"Go find someplace to chill Abarai" Ikkaku ordered with a crazy grin "11th Division fight's one on one… Extend, Hozukimaru!"

* * *

"Santen Kesshun!" Orihime shouted, just in time to block yet another spray of acid from the blade of Sendo Hebi

Matsumoto was keeping Tsubaki busy at close quarters, using a combination of Haineko's ash to nullify large amounts of the acid before it could touch her, and a blade consisting of countless ash particles forced together so she could ward off the actual sword strikes, though one end of her scarf was burned through, along with about fifty pockmarks on her shihakusho where she hadn't been fast enough, and let the acid through

About fifteen meters away, Chad and Orihime were acting as a mobile artillery unit, with a combination of Chad's energy blasts, and Orihime's Koten Zanshun as the ammunition, and defending themselves from the acid with Santen Kesshun

Overall, it was looking like a stalemate

* * *

The final fight currently taking place was going very badly for Ichigo, Hisagi and Uryuu

Who all just slammed into a nearby wall, one after the other

"It would have taken much less time if you had just surrendered the Quincy to me" Emi sighed, tugging on the hilt of Enkaiookami

Enkaiookami had morphed from an ordinary katana into a sword hilt, with whip ends that moved far too fast to be accurately counted

And when those whips touched you, it suddenly felt like someone stuck that part of you in an ice bath

And before the three of them knew it, they were in the icy grip of Enkaiookami, and being flung against a wall

"Dammit" growled Ichigo as he got to his feet, glancing at Hisagi and Uryuu, who were doing the same "It moved so fast"

"Oh, you guys got up" Emi said, mildly surprised "This power limiter is so bothersome, it would have finished this quickly if I'd been at full power"

"Unlucky for you then" Ichigo replied "Now that we've seen it, we won't get caught again"

"Oh really?"

Emi swung the hilt down and sent the whips flying towards them

Ichigo and Hisagi jumped out of the way, while Uryuu simply shot arrows at the ones that came his way, knocking them all out of the sky

Emi frowned; the Hisagi and the Quincy had just taken their cue from Ichigo, so they weren't of too much consequence… but Ichigo, he was able to judge the speed of Enkaiookami's movements, and jump at the precise moment and angle to avoid it, and avoid being chased by it

Emi narrowed her eyes as she pulled back Enkaiookami

_I can see why Kira-san was so interested in fighting this one_

"You're pretty good… Ichigo" Emi acknowledged "How about we go at it for real?"

Hisagi and Uryuu exchanged a look of confusion, and the exact same thought passed through their heads

_We're being completely ignored?

* * *

_

"Ahh crap" Layne said, rubbing the back of his neck and looking around "I have absolutely no idea where we are"

Rukia appeared next to him, and collapsed, rolling onto her back, taking exhausted breaths

"Eh? What's wrong Rukia?" Layne asked with a trace of alarm

Rukia gestured for Layne to come closer, so he knelt down by her side

Strangely, this time when her fist connected with his face, instead of registering pain, the thought that ran through his head was "Pow!"

Rukia sat up; eyes closed and held her fist up, veins pulsing on her forehead

"You bastard… after you explained you started flashstepping faster… I only just recovered my reiryoku and even if I was in top form I wouldn't have been able to keep up"

Layne started laughing "Ahh, sorry, sorry, I guess I just didn't notice, it's hard to constantly minimize or maximize my speed so I probably just went back to middle ground"

"Middle ground?" Rukia asked "Just how fast can you go?"

Layne thought for a second "I'd probably need to be feeling really unlazy, and be in Bankai… but I don't think it would be too much of a stretch to assume that I could go supersonic"

"Mind you" Layne added "I think my definition of supersonic is different to supersonic in this place… Ichigo's Bankai isn't as fast as mine, and I'm pretty sure he breaks the sound barrier regularly"

The sound of a jaw hitting the floor was audible

* * *

Around the corner, Ren Kashira appeared, panting from his exertions

_To think I would of expended so much reiatsu just chasing him down_

He stole a glance around the corner of the alley and saw that they hadn't moved, Layne still waiting for Rukia to recover

_First Rule of Assassination: The Weakest dies first!_

"Henryuuki" Ren whispered unsheathing the Zanpakuto at his side "Shall we go?"

"_It's been a while Ren… hopefully this time you're not going to stomp on some boring hollows"_

Ren smirked "No, I believe you might enjoy the challenge of executing a Bankai wielder"

Ren glanced around the corner again "But first…"

_I'm only going to get one shot at this…if I don't disable her before the kido fails, then I'll be fighting two on one_

Ren stepped around the corner, though wasn't seen as both Layne's and Rukia's backs were turned to him

"Disintegrate, you black dog of Rodan!! Look upon yourself with horror and then claw out your own throat!" Ren shouted "Bakudo No.9: Geki!"

* * *

Both Layne and Rukia heard the shout too late

Normally Layne would have been able to draw his Zanpakuto and at least attempt to block whatever was coming next but… he'd never been bound by a Bakudo before

Rukia on the other hand, turned slightly, and only just heard what was coming next

"Become the Variable: Band"

The only part of Layne that could move was his eyes, so he strained them to the corner and was horrified to see a large amount of blood spurt out of Rukia's back

Ren jumped back "Yade yare… if I'd known it would have been this easy I would have let that idiot do it"

Rukia fell backwards, barely breathing, with blood leaking out all over the flagstones

Try as he might, Layne couldn't break out of the Bakudo

_What the hell is this?!_

Ren walked around to the front of Layne, prodding him a couple of time's with the tip of Henryuuki

"This is really weird" Ren commented "That's only a level nine… a hollow with an eighth of your reiatsu could of broken out of it easily"

Ren lifted Henryuuki up "I'd be interested to know why my Kido has such a great effect on you... but I should finish this off"

"Enact Justice: Cameron!"

Ren's Zanpakuto morphed from a double edged broad sword into an absolutely huge lance, which he twirled around with ease

"I wonder if Kira knew she was just wasting her time on you" Ren asked rhetorically "Oh well"

Ren aimed the tip of the lance directly as Layne's unguarded heart, and thrust forwards

* * *

Even with the enhanced physical prowess afforded by his Bankai, Joel was still having a tough time against Daisuke

"Earth's Power: Magnetize!"

Joel formed the reiatsu disc on his left arm, just in time to rebound Daisuke's Zanpakuto, before it sliced clean through his wrist

But it still burned

Joel cried out in pain and jumped back

_What the hell is this?_

"Whew" Daisuke said with a grin "That was the closest thing to a cut I've made on you, very nice work"

Joel grit his teeth, and waiting for the other shoe to drop

"But it seems that Kaen Toreitai can burn you even through your weird Magnetize ability"

Joel raised an eyebrow and looked at his arm

The hair was gone and the area where Daisuke's Zanpakuto had nearly touched was developing a shiny red burn

"Dammit" Joel growled "I've got to finish this"

Daisuke overheard him

"Why would you want to finish this?" he asked, sounding horrified "I'm having a lot of fun"

Joel stole a glance at Nemu, who had somehow moved to the side of a building, and was sitting up against it, holding her hand over the hole in her stomach

Joel was galvanized

_Even if I didn't want to, now is the time to use 'that'_

"Oi" he called out to Daisuke "What's your name?"

"Daisuke Hayato, former 4th seat of Squad Zero"

Joel smiled "I've had it beaten into my head by a certain bald dude, that you should know the name of those you are going to defeat, and they should know the name of the person that will defeat them"

Daisuke chuckled "Let's hear it then"

"Joel Bluzer, Lieutenant of Squad Thirteen"

"Ahh, so your one of those Lieutenants with a Bankai" Daisuke said "I'm impressed"

Joel began glowing yellow as he hardened the reiatsu around him

"I've only ever done this once… so you'd better hope I still can't use it that well"

Daisuke leapt forwards "I didn't come here to watch you charge some stupid move, it was more fun when we were just going at it!"

Joel raised his wall of earth and Daisuke's Zanpakuto clattered uselessly against it, so he jumped back and waited

A flat chunk of the earth Joel had raised suddenly went flying at Daisuke, who dodged it easily, but wasn't prepared for the staccato of other chunks that caught him in the chest, legs and arms

He hit the floor, and rolled over attempting to catch his breath, catching sight of Joel as he emerged from the earth cocoon, flexing his strangely thickened left arm

"Ahh this is troublesome" Joel complained "As soon as I show this to someone I have to think of a name for it"

Daisuke pulled himself to his feet, and got a good look at Joel

His left arm was completely encased in rock, similar to Chad's Right Arm of the Giant in that it fit perfectly to the contours of his arm and had all the flexibility of the arm without the armor

It even had the two spurs at the top

"I got this idea from Layne's friend Chad" Joel explained "So I have to name it something to do with my arm…hmmm"

Joel's eyes lit up "I know, I'll call it Fist of the Mountain!"

* * *

Ren felt the resistance as soon as he thrust Cameron into Layne, so he looked up and was incredibly surprised to see that Layne had managed to cross his arms in front of the tip of Cameron, leaving him with a rather large hole in his right arm, but he was still alive

"Lucky" Layne breathed, pushing Ren away and drawing one of his Zanpakuto, letting his now useless right arm hang limply at his side

Ren was completely shocked, was he only pretending to be caught in the Bakudo?

_No, that would be completely dumbassed… His friend was disabled, and if he could move at that speed to defend himself, then if I hadn't bound him to start with I wouldn't have been able to strike her at all…_

While Ren was thinking, Layne had torn off the sleeve of his Shihakusho and started wrapping it around his useless arm, no mean feat considering he could only just bend the arm at the elbow

_The only plausible explanation is that when I used my reishi to propel Cameron, it acted like a fan, and blew away the Bakudo binding him… but to block in that split second, such speed and force of will!_

"Drift, Roxas!" Layne intoned, throwing his Zanpakuto to the side, where it disappeared in a flash of white light

Oathkeeper appeared in his left hand "Come on, It's obvious that you're the spy I came looking for, so let's get this over with"

Even as he said that, Layne was cursing his inability to escape from that Bakudo

_Busted Arm, Rukia's alive… but bleeding out…don't think I can use Bankai without Oblivion and he isn't hurt at all, this situation doesn't look good at all… but anyways_

Ren smiled, "I see that I was wrong about you, you are most definitely worthy of Kira's attention"

"Become the Variable: Band!"

Ren's zanpakuto shifted back into the double edged broadsword with the smaller blades twisted halfway up the blade from the tsuba

"Now then, should we start this for real?"

Layne sighed "I've been ready since you stabbed me, don't know what you were waiting for"

* * *

**a/n - Whew, finished xD**

**Yes, Joel is a complete copy cat, but Fist of the Mountain promises to be epic (at least in my head .)**

**I realized a little to late that Layne was getting a little god moded, so i decided to make him super weak to kido in all it's forms**

**R&R =D  
**


	23. Chapter 23: Sleep Eating

**a/n - G'day, today i'm just going to pass along some friendly advice, If you get a chance to go see Hot Tub Time Machine, do it... it's the funniest movie i've seen in a while**

* * *

Layne and Ren dueled, sparks flying every time the white keyblade connected with the black broadsword

Layne could barely hold his own, factoring in the pain of his injured arm, and the useless deadweight it had become, it was a serious hindrance

_Thank god my weaker arm was the one that got screwed_

Layne grunted as he parried another strike,

_This doesn't look good, at all_

On the other side of the combat, Ren pressed his advantage, having noted that Layne seemed to be weakening under the constant barrage of attacks

'It's time to finish this" he said, attracting Layne's attention as he jumped back, and pointed Band forwards

"Pound to Death: Bokusi!"

The broadsword morphed again, and this time Layne noticed it

"Holy shit! Your Zanpakuto has multiple shapes!?"

Ren shook his head in frustration

_I can't tell if this guy is a combat genius or just a lucky idiot_

Meanwhile, Band had shifted into Bokusi, two form fitting all metal gloves that reminded Layne of both of his usual hand modifications except these gloves were more akin to Layne's hollowfied right hand than his Bankai

And they had blades

"Amazing" Layne complimented "But you're not the only one with gloves"

"I know all about your Bankai" Ren replied "And since you haven't used it yet, I just have to assume you can't"

Layne readied himself and Ren smirked

_Right on_

Layne jumped forwards, decided that it would be a smarter idea to actually fight and not talk

Ren sighed, despite his skill with swordsmanship; He was actually much better fighting with his his fists

So even though Layne brought Oathkeeper up to block the punch that he saw coming, Ren's other fist connected with his gut, and the combined bursts of energy blew him backwards into the closest wall

* * *

Daisuke's breaths were long and labored and he was covered in blood, had had half his ribs either simply fractured or torn off and now embedded in his gut, but he was having the most fun of his life

"This is the best!" He shouted, despite the exertion causing him to cough up more blood "I would of sealed my power from the start if I knew I could have this much fun in a fight again!"

Joel was unimpressed, rolling his rock encased shoulder around and giving Daisuke a weird look

"I've been beating this shit out of you since I started using this; it's not fun at all to be as injured as you are… trust me, I've been in a similar condition"

Daisuke reached down and picked up his sword, dropped when Joel had punched him so hard he flew into a building

"I think I might just have to fight for real now"

"Ban-"

"Like I'd let you" Joel snarled leaping forward and punching straight forward, forcing Daisuke to roll to the side, clenching his teeth as his ribs contracted and sent pain shooting all through his body

"Ban-"

Again Joel got there before Daisuke could complete the release, forcing Daisuke to dodge yet again, or face instant death

"Ban-"

"Give it up!" shouted Joel going for a third punch, but was stopped by a sudden inability to move his right arm

Daisuke had also stopped moving, and trying to release his Bankai, but his look was one of annoyance rather than relief

Joel looked over his shoulder and saw that his left arm was being held back by several whips

"Dammit Daisuke" Emi growled "I thought the idea here wasn't to have a fight for fighting's sake, but to kill your fucking opponent!"

"I haven't wasted my time, seeing as we got what we came for"

Joel didn't like the sound of that, so he yanked forward, attempting to pull Emi from her perch, but she released her whips and used them to grab Daisuke and pull him to her

Joel turned around "Running away huh?"

Emi turned and sneered at him "You've wasted enough of our time and anyway, if I had bothered to deal with you, it would just add another one of your friends to the death count"

Joel paled and extended his reiatsu sense

_Death count…? _

When he eventually sensed everyone still alive he relaxed, and prepared to unleash some serious beatdown on Emi and Daisuke

But they were gone, disappearing as soon as Joel took his concentration from them

"Fuck!"

* * *

"I wonder if that guy is still alive?" Ren asked to no one in particular, rolling his wrists and turning to walk away

"Where…do…you…think…you're…going!" Layne choked out, emerging from the rubble, covered in dirt and blood, his shihakusho in tatters with bruises beginning to form on his chest and head

_This guy's pretty durable… but I bet he won't survive another hit from Bokusi_

Ren turned back towards Layne

"You're the first to survive taking both of Bokusi's fists at once" Ren announced "For that you should be proud… I've never had to hit anyone a second time after that"

"Cheers, but don't mark that down as my epitaph just yet" Layne spat, along with a large amount of blood, and drew his other katana from its sheath, Oathkeeper having reverted to its sealed form and lost itself in the rubble

_I can barely keep my goddamned eyes open… it's all blurry too_

Ren sprang forwards, his reiatsu literally surging from his fists as he put a significant portion of his remaining power into them

"Scatter, Senbonzakura"

Suddenly Ren was surrounded by a cloud of pink petal-like things

_This is...?!_

Byakuya appeared next to Rukia's prone form his trademarked light green scarf flapping from his recent exit from a flashstep, who was just barely alive

"Feel honored, traitor, that you have the privilege of dying to Senbonzakura's released form"

Byakuya spoke without inflection, but even in his half dead state, Layne could feel something akin to anger attached to those words

Ren assessed his options

_I can't fight off a battle ready captain... I could really die here_

"Fuck that," Ren muttered, blasting holes in the blade curtain with Bokusi and disappearing

Layne blinked and looked at Byakuya, who turned to Layne and closed his eyes, as if unwilling to soil his eyes with Layne's dirty and bloody appearance

"I think… I'll leave this to you…" Layne said, falling forwards and letting unconsciousness take him

* * *

Later, when Joel had removed Nemu to get treated by Tessai, and gone out to help everyone else he was surprised by just how screwed over everyone was

He had seen a battered Renji carrying an unconscious Ikkaku, Gotten a nosebleed as he saw the state Sendo Hebi had left Matsumoto's shihakusho in, and currently was in the spot where Hisagi, Uryuu and Ichigo would have been fighting one of them

He looked around in confusion

_Their reiatsu's are here… but I can't see them at all?_

As if on cue, Ichigo burst up from the rubble behind him, scaring the living shit out of Joel

"Shit!" Ichigo cursed "That woman took Uryuu!"

Ichigo reached down beside him and pulled out an unconscious Hisagi from the ruins

"Hisagi-san!"

Joel sweatdropped

_That guy doesn't look too hurt at all_

* * *

The 4th division hospital complex was for the first time, miraculously clear, and so when Byakuya arrived with the terribly injured Layne, and the relatively less injured Rukia, Captain Unohana, Isane, and Moll were all instantly available to work on them

Byakuya waited outside, and was joined by Ukitake and Kyoraku when they heard this had something to do with Kira

Unohana exited the surgery room, with her usually serene expression, so everyone relaxed collectively

Byakuya shot Unohana a stare and she began speaking in response to his unspoken question

"She will make a full recovery Captain Kuchiki… though her Hakusui was partially damaged from her injury and she will not be able to use her spiritual powers for some time, she may be released to go rest at your estate tomorrow"

Byakuya nodded and got up to leave, his business concluded

"Oi Byakuya-kun" Ukitake tried halfheartedly "Don't you care about Layne-kun's condition?"

Byakuya ignored him and flashstepped away

Kyoraku chuckled and tipped his basket hat forwards

"Don't let it bother you Jyuu, He only ever does what interests him at any given moment anyway"

Kyoraku turned to Unohaha "And just how is Layne-kun?"

"Once again, I am amazed at Trell-kun's endurance; we healed numerous lacerations, bruises, fractured and shattered bones… and those weren't even the injuries that caused him to lose consciousness"

"Amazing" Ukitake said a little wistfully "And I can't even fight when my illness strikes"

"Don't talk like that Captain Ukitake" Moll cut him off, appearing in the doorway with Isane "Layne has never been, and never will be normal… things like this are just proof"

"So how is he now then, Third Seat Rone?"

Moll jabbed her thumb in the direction she just came from, where the sounds of snoring were becoming more and more audible

Kyoraku, Ukitake and Isane all sweatdropped

* * *

"I can't freaking believe you Daisuke" Emi cursed as Takeda's Doll Sai carried him into their hideout

"You're meant to kill both of them, use whatever you needed! But nooo, in the interest of holding a fun fight you don't even use your goddamned Bankai and nearly get yourself killed in the process"

"It was worth it"

Emi looked murderous, so Tsubaki subtly put herself in between the two

They opened the door and stepped through

"Tsubaki, go take that Quincy and put him in that room with the lock" Emi ordered "Takeda, do whatever it is you do with that gate when I don't feel like paying attention to you"

"What about me?"

Kira had emerged, her reiatsu evidently recovered

"Kira-san!"

"Yo"

"W-what happened to you, above that worthless store?"

"If I had to guess, I'd say that since I hadn't done Mi Gai Dageki in a while I overdid it and put far too much reiatsu into, which didn't strengthen it, but it weakened me"

Kira tilted her head from side to side, eliciting several loud snaps from her neck

"What happened to you guys?" she asked, noticing Daisuke slowly bleeding out in Sai's arms, and the numerous superficial injuries all the others were sporting

They all glanced at each other

"Nothing too important" Sendo Hebi answered from Tsubaki's back as she returned to the room "But by the ssscalesss on my blade, I am glad to sssee you back with usss Kira-sssan"

"Shut it, Hebi"

Sendo Hebi stopped kissing ass and shut up

The door burst open again, revealing Ren, who was far more damaged from his fight with Layne, and brief skirmish with Byakuya then had showed up then

"Ahh Ren?" Kira said with a wicked grin, she knew that she scared him shitless sometimes "It's a bit early for your report"

"Kira-sama" Ren said hurriedly "I beseech you for pardo-"

He was cut off when Tsubaki grasped his shoulder and smiled

Ren calmed down

"One of the Substitute Shinigami, the one with the white zanpakuto that looks like a key, he realized that you had spies in the Seireitei, and he convinced Rukia Kuchiki-sama to guide him to the Seireitei, Jankz and I overheard them talking and I moved to eliminate them, I had critically wounded Kuchiki and was about to apply the finishing blow to the substitute… when Captain Kuchiki interfered"

"So… how many did you kill?"

"…None"

"Well it doesn't matter anyway, Jankz is still there right?"

Ren nodded

"Then you can just come with us through Takeda's gate… I'm sure we can find someone for you to kill with your pitiful skills"

Tsubaki was already leading Ren up to her room, shooting an evil glare at Kira as she caught that last remark

Kira chuckled and then looked at Daisuke

"That still doesn't explain how you got so fucked up"

"That new lieutenant of the 13th division" Emi explained "Appears to be stronger that Daisuke"

"How are we going to heal those injuries?"

"Kidnap a member of the fourth?"

"So this lieutenant, stronger than Daisuke eh? Kira said, smiling "I wonder if he would be worth a fight"

Emi sighed, in their hearts, Kira and Daisuke were one and the same and Emi had always envied him for that

"In terms of power, Daisuke ranks below You, Me and Takeda" Emi said matter of factly "With Tsubaki directly under him, and then Ren and Jankz"

"Speaking of Ren, I'm interested to know just how he nearly killed that Substitute; I wouldn't have thought he would have had nearly enough power for it"

"Isn't he one of those dual Zanpakuto wielders?" Emi asked "Ren only said something about a white bladekey, if he wasn't using the black bladekey as well for whatever reason, then maybe his power level might have been equal to or lower than Ren's"

* * *

"This might be a stupid question Joel" Renji asked "But do you still have your limit release on?"

Everyone who had been fighting today was down at Layne's place in Urahara's basement, and they still had no idea where either Layne, Urahara or Yoruichi were, though Tessai, Jinta and Ururu had helped them patch up their injuries

Joel pulled the front of his Shihakusho down, exposing part of his muscular chest, where a black Summer Snowflake symbol was inscribed on his chest

Matsumoto suddenly reached out and grabbed him pulling him close and staring intensely at the mark on his chest

Joel's face became very hot "Oi, oi Rangiku-san"

"Your limiter decayed" Matsumoto announced, moving back "Your at seventy five percent strength while the rest of us at still at twenty, aside from Ikkaku, and Ichigo"

_So that's why I could suddenly kick the shit out of that guy when I used Fist of the Mountain… It's such an explosive power release, even more so that my compressive Bankai, that it probably jarred the limiter_

"Well that's a good thing" Ichigo remarked "I was at full power and I was getting my tail kicked by that woman who took Uryuu"

"Did you try Bankai?" Joel asked "I noticed my time getting a lot easier after I used mine"

"I…haven't been able to use my Bankai since I left Soul Society, I'm pretty sure Layne hasn't either"

"Why would that be?" Joel asked, tilting his head

"It's because of the lack of ambient reishi in the air" Nemu began explaining "Soul Society naturally has many reishi particles because of all the Shinigami and their unfettered reiatsu, but here in the real world, where anyone above Lieutenant level is limited, and there are more human souls, the reishi in the air is limited"

Joel nodded like he understood what she was on about and Matsumoto slapped him

"Pay attention"

"Because there has never been many cases of human's becoming Shinigami, I can only posit the hypothesis that because Kurosaki-san, and Trell-san are not full time Shinigami, they relied on the ambient reishi in Soul Society, rather than just the core of their Zanpakuto spirit for Bankai, therefore creating imperfect Bankai's

Everyone looked at Ichigo with a newfound respect

_Even an imperfect Bankai was enough to defeat Captain Kuchiki?_

Nemu continued on "So, until you and Trell-san can form their perfect Bankai's simply from the core of their souls, then you won't be able to do Bankai in the real world"

Joel was still nodding like he knew what was going on and this time Nemu turned to him

"You didn't understand a word of my explanation, did you Joel?"

"Not at all"

* * *

Moll had enough

"Tornado!"

A sleeping Layne was blasted through the wall, and he miraculously, didn't wake up even through that

"AGH!" Moll shouted "I can't take your snoring anymore!"

"Third Seat Rone!" Isane came round the corner, her expression stern "I thought I told you that could only stay here if you stopped blasting Trell-san through the walls, this is the third time!"

"Sorry" Moll said sheepishly "He just won't stop snoring"

Isane sighed "He didn't wake up through this Tornado either?"

"Not a stir"

"Impressive sleeper"

"Wait until you see this"

Moll reached over and plucked a green apple from a basket on the last remaining piece of furniture in the room and tossed it to Layne's sleeping form, among the pile of rubble, where it landed, just close enough to Layne's mouth

His head moved and took a large chomp from the apple, and he started chewing

Isane's jaw hung open

"And he's still asleep" she muttered disbelievingly

"Oh yeah" replied Moll gloomily "And this isn't even the most amazing thing I've seen him do while he's asleep"

* * *

One week later, Layne was still asleep, but the gang down in the real world now knew where he was, which was a topic of much confusion for a while

At the Urahara store Renji and Joel were cleaning the store, because Urahara said something about freeloading in the basement, when Matsumoto and Hisagi burst through the front door

"We found them?"

"Found who?"

"Kira!"

Joel and Renji were out of their bodies and out the door, heading for Ichigo's place before Matsumoto could blink

* * *

"How's that gate Takeda?" Kira asked "I want to get this over with"

"Almost finished" Takeda smiled "I just need this Quincy to fire his arrow through so we can enter the Soul Society

Uryuu sat bound in a chair nearby, and his eyes unconsciously slid to his reishi amplifying bracelet

_No matter what, I can't fire an arrow into that gate_

A loud explosion shook the building, and it seemed like an earthquake to those inside

Tsubaki, the resident Kido expert looked up in alarm, and Sendo Hebi immediately began shooting its mouth off

"Tsssubaki'sss Kyomon kido has been breached… by sssomething called Getsssuga Tenssshou" it hissed

"I've never heard of that before, but there's only a few people that could have been" Kira answered, drawing her Zanpakuto

Ren, Emi and Tsubaki mirrored her movement, and they were all ready when the inner door burst open, revealing Ichigo, Renji, Chad, Joel, Orihime, Matsumoto, Ikkaku, Hisagi and Nemu

"Alright" Joel said with a grin "Don't worry, the Cavalry is here"

* * *

**a/n - And so ends chap 23, hope your enjoying it =D**

**Review button, it gives me reviews... i like reviews**

**I hate studying, which is probably why i prefer writing this... XD**


	24. Chapter 24: Get Back Here!

**a/n - Thanks randomguy for explaining what happened after i deleted the profiles at the beginning of the story, if you tried to review last chap but couldn't it was because the chapter numbers matched up with my chapter numbers after i deleted the first chapter (which wasn't really a chapter) so, this should prolly help XD**

* * *

"Let Uryuu go" Ichigo said confidently, standing forward from his group "I'm the one you wanted to fight"

"Idiot, if fighting you was our only goal than do you think we would have run away so many times or bothered kidnapping your Quincy?" Emi shot back "Kira-san could have taken the lot of you before even requiring her Bankai"

Kira stepped forwards and clapped a hand on Emi's shoulder, who shut up and stepped back

"If you're here to stop us, then come on… talking when we could be fighting is pointless"

As one, five zanpakuto's were removed from their sheath's, A black liquid like substance formed on Chad's arm and solidified into his Right Arm of the Giant, and Orihime's Shun Shun Rikka detached from her hair clips and began flying around

Ichigo watched as Kira's group moved into a ready stance, and then glanced at everyone beside him

_I'm going to be the one to beat Kira… it's going to be rough without help… but Layne was the only one who wasn't power sealed_

"Let's go!"

They jumped forward, splitting in four directions, aiming for a different member of Kira's group

* * *

"Kill, Kira!"

Kira went into Shikai off the bat, watching Ichigo leap towards her and swinging her scythe around like it was nothing

_I would have liked to enjoy this… but I'm so close to my revenge, and I'm not letting these brats take it from me!

* * *

_

"Bite the Moon in Two, Enkaiookami"

Emi waved her whips around, attempting to intimidate Renji and Joel, who had ended up with her as their opponent

"Strange that you would come straight to me" she said, aiming her remark to Joel "I obviously didn't scare you last time we met"

"I figured that you'd be out to get me cause I beat up your boyfriend… so I decided to save you the effort" Joel replied easily "Make Your Choice, Riku!"

"I can't use my Bankai in such a small place with everyone around, Joel" Renji warned

"That's fine… I still got mine, Bankai!"

* * *

"Look, Tsssubaki it'sss the cow titted bitch from lassst time" Sendo Hebi hissed as Matsumoto and Hisagi appeared closest to her

"Growl, Haineko!"

"Letss-"

Tsubaki clamped a hand over Sendo Hebi's snake mouth

"What's wrong?" Matsumoto taunted "Arguments among the family?"

Tsubaki spoke up "I want to kill the guy who ruined my jacket… not waste my time with you two"

* * *

Chad, Orihime and Ikkaku were the slowest to move, and so ended up with Ren

"Heh, you guys can stand back" Ikkaku said confidently "I'm more than enough for this guy"

"Madarame Ikkaku, 3rd seat Squad 11" Ren recited confidently "I've never actually fought against you… but your reputation as an arrogant bastard is legendary among the 3rd"

Ikkaku said nothing, beginning to do his Lucky Lucky dance

"Well, even if you want to go one on one, which would just waste my time… Show your Fangs, Ookami"

Ren's sealed Zanpakuto morphed from a katana into two smaller versions of Kira's shikai, with only two of the six blades but to make up for the loss of four blades, each shaft had four large flails at the top, with blunted spikes on the balls

"I only use Ookami when I'm taking on multiple opponents… so even if you want to fight alone, you got no choice in the matter"

And with that, he leapt forwards, the scythe-flail in his left hand going forwards and forcing Ikkaku to dodge, and the one in his right swinging backwards, catching Chad with one of the flails

* * *

"Dammit" Daisuke growled, in the lowest part of Kira's hideout "I want to fight too… why won't you let me fight?"

Takeda, who had jumped down to ensure the gates condition stayed optimum even during the fighting upstairs, glanced at Daisuke and returned to his work on the gate

"I'm not sure… it's not like you aren't in perfect fighting condition" Takeda replied sarcastically "Shattered ribs, I barely managed to stop all the bleeding… and you'll probably die if we don't get you some medical attention soon, so sure you can go fight"

"You don't have to be sarcastic about it" Daisuke said lowly "It's not like I want to go fight that Joel guy again, even at full power I'm not sure I would of won and so, I'll go seek someone else"

"Forget it" Takeda replied "You made me use Sai to hold you down, so you're not moving until we go"

Daisuke gave up and just lay back, staring at the ceiling

"All finished" Takeda said, standing up and wiping his forehead with the back of his arm "All that fighting upstairs disturbed the gate a little, but now all I need is the reiatsu from a Quincy's arrow"

He glanced at Uryuu, tied to a chair in the corner, who was staring up at the floor above, following the fights with his reiatsu sense

"Ready to help us yet Quincy?" Takeda asked rhetorically

Uryuu didn't reply, but his eyes widened as he felt a familiar reiatsu moving closer at a stupidly fast rate

The roof exploded as Ichigo shot through it, raining chunks of mortar, brick and other debris onto them

"Good thing we were the only people in that room, eh Ichigo Kurosaki?" Kira commented as she jumped down after him "I'm pretty surprised you're still able to fight back, I haven't been holding back as much as I should be to keep the fight this interesting"

"Shut…up" Ichigo replied, pushing himself up with Zangetsu

He looked like he had taken a beating, with cuts and bruised all over his visible skin, in stark contrast to Kira who's only visible signs that she had been fighting a few small cuts on her arms

"I'm not going to let you continue to slaughter people" Ichigo intoned with confidence

Kira started laughing "Silly boy, do you really think that killing people is the only thing I do?"

Ichigo just charged forwards, swinging Zangetsu in a diagonal sweep

Kira caught Zangetsu with the blades of her scythe and twisted it out of his grasp, flinging it away, and then swept the shaft so it caught Ichigo in the stomach, throwing him backwards into the wall

Ichigo stood up again, blood leaking from a new wound on his forehead

_Shit…did she get more powerful as I got thrown through the floor?_

Kira chuckled "I have to admit kid; you're the first person that gave me a challenge with my Shikai out in years, but that might only have been when you had your friend with you"

Kira flashstepped next to Ichigo "Without him… you might as well be dust"

She swung her scythe around before Ichigo could react, stabbing through his gut with the smallest blade and throwing him to the other side of the room

"Come on! Where is your Bankai? If you're going to die that easily then why did you come down here?"

"…What" Ichigo choked out, moving slowly and picking himself up as Kira continued

"I know all about you, Bankai, your triumphs over Kenpachi Zaraki and Byakuya Kuchiki, but since you won't oblige me, I guess I'll just have to kill you… after I explain my true goals"

"Kira-san!" Takeda interrupted in alarm

"Its okay, Takeda… I don't like to be known as a mindless killer… all the time"

She flashstepped next to Ichigo and picked him up by the throat

"I just want my revenge… On the Soul Society, Shunshui Kyoraku, Jyushiro Ukitake… and most especially, The Royal Family"

Ichigo was unable to speak due to her chokehold, but he made a strange sound of surprise

"Surprised? Heh, I'll kill anyone, anything that dares get in my way… and unfortunately for you, you're doing that right this very second

She threw him away

"So either show me your Bankai… or die painfully within the next five minutes"

Ichigo stood up "I don't care how much you hate Soul Society, that's no excuse to kill people as you see fit… Getsuga Tenshou!

The blue crescent of energy flew from the tip of Zangetsu directly at Kira, who simply redirected it with her Zanpakuto

"So you still had enough power to do that? Very well then"

Once again Kira flashstepped next to him, this time delivering a backhanded punch to Ichigo's face, knocking him to the ground, and making him drop Zangetsu

"I know that deaths from Kira are very painful, so out of respect for your fighting spirit… I'll kill you with your own Zanpakuto… Zangetsu isn't it?"

_Is this the end?_

Images of Ichigo's friends flashed through his mind, Rukia, Renji, Chad, Uryuu, Orihime and Layne

_No… I didn't come this far to fail and let everyone down_

Kira stabbed Zangetsu straight down, but Ichigo somehow reached up and caught it

"What are you doing Zangetsu… Show yourself to me"

Ichigo brought Zangetsu down impaling himself… and both he and Zangetsu disappeared

"What the hell?" Kira exclaimed

* * *

Inside Ichigo's inner world, he stood on the side of the building and opened his eyes, completely restored and watched as Zangetsu jumped down and balanced on the pole

"Have you formed your resolve?" Zangetsu asked

"Whenever I get pushed into a corner… there was always my Bankai, but then I was told I couldn't use it in the real world" Ichigo replied "But I was probably still thinking it within a little corner of my heart"

"Bankai is the ultimate way to feel pain together with your blade… you must not fear pain Ichigo, or my blade will become as dull as a useless stick, Now I shall ask you once, If you have formed your resolve then, Why do you fight… Why do you want power?"

"I remembered, I became a Shinigami to protect those precious to me, and by making a promise with my soul, I obtained Bankai… I must have been relying too heavily on those around me… and not maximizing my own contribution to the group effort… Zangetsu, Lend me your power, the power to protect everyone"

"I am your power… you have but to believe in it"

* * *

Ichigo reappeared in front of Kira, brandishing Zangetsu

"What?!" she exclaimed in alarm

"Let's go Kira… this is my resolve! Bankai!"

The explosive power of Ichigo's reiatsu rapidly compressing around him kicked up dust, and forced Kira to jump back

The dust cleared and Ichigo stood and pointed his blade at her "Tensa Zangetsu"

"Shall we finish this up, Kira?"

* * *

In the corner, Uryuu had nearly finished with the ropes binding him to the chair

"Excellent" he muttered to himself "Now I just need to go help Kurosaki"

* * *

Ichigo and Kira jumped apart as a blue arrow nearly impaled them both

"Watch where you're shooting that thing, Ishida!" Ichigo growled

"My apologies Kurosaki" Ishida said, pushing his glasses up, "You should probably move faster than me to avoid it"

Takeda's eyes widened and he saw his chance

Uryuu fired off another arrow, but Sai lept up and caught it before it could even get near Kira

"My thanks… Quincy" Takeda said smugly, as Sai absorbed the arrow and fired one of her own through the gate, which immediately changed color

"Mache Sogliech das tor fuer unsere Bount auf!" Takeda intoned

A strange symbol appeared above the gate and Takeda moved his hands as if to open it

"Kira-san… the gate is complete"

"Excellent!" Kira shouted

Ichigo appeared in front of the gate "And just where do you think you're going?"

"To take my revenge" Kira replied coldly "Haburi Kei Gai!"

Black shapes began forming between the six blades of Kira's scythe and she swung it directly into Ichigo, who was somehow slowed down and couldn't dodge in time

Horrific injuries opened up all over his body as he fell to the ground and Kira smirked "I'd kill you, but I'm out of time"

Emi, Tsubaki, and Ren appeared in next to the gate, Emi and Ren picking up Daisuke, who was still sulking about not being allowed to fight

"Adios, suckers" Emi taunted as they all vanished through the gate

Hisagi, Matsumoto, Ikkaku, Renji and Joel appeared, Matsumoto carrying a wounded Orihime and Ikkaku with an unconscious Chad

Matsumoto began fretting "Oh no… Captain Hitsugaya is going to be really mad… we'd better inform Soul Society"

"I'll do it" Joel said "Captain Ukitake is still one of the major players in this situation" He pulled out a mobile and began dialing a number

Ichigo struggled to his feet and turned to the collective Lieutenants "You guys knew… didn't you"

"About what?" Renji asked, rubbing the blood off a cut on his arm

Ichigo sat down and let Orihime begin to heal him

"About Kira… what her true goal was this entire time"

Renji nodded

"Did you not tell us because you'd think we'd wipe our hands of something that should have been Soul Society's problem?"

Renji nodded again

Joel finished his conversation on the phone and turned around and karate chopped Renji's head

"That's why we didn't tell them?!" he said angrily "That's the stupidest reason I've ever heard"

"Yeah" Ichigo agreed "She nearly killed my sisters, I would have been out for her blood even if the only person out to get her was Aizen"

"Forget it Kurosaki… we aren't going to do anymore good here" Uryuu said regretfully

* * *

As they exited the Senkai gate in a remote corner of the Seireitei, Kira glanced down her robe to see the flower inscribed above her left breast had vanished… and she immediately felt better, and exulted in the pure rush of power, seeing that Tsubaki and Emi did the same

"It's so good to feel the power flowing again" Kira announced "And this should be good for you… Takeda"

Jankz appeared in front of them

"I came as soon as I felt your reiatsu, Kira-sama"

"Ahh Jankz, good I've got a job for you and Ren"

"Yes?"

"Go kidnap a couple members of the 4th, and bring them here to heal Daisuke"

They nodded, and flashstepped off

"It's so nice to be back" Kira said with a wicked grin "Now I can begin my revenge

* * *

In his secluded office Ukitake was working on paperwork late, when the phone rang

He gave a start of surprise and picked it up

"Hello?"

"Hello, Captain Ukitake" Joel greeted from the other end

"Ahh, Joel-kun, what can I do for you?"

"Sorry, Captain, we chased Kira to her hideout, but she and her subordinates escaped to Soul Society"

Ukitake nearly dropped the phone in shock

"What?"

"We'll head back to Seireitei immediately… also we're bringing Ichigo and Orihime-san back with us, so if you could modify the Senkai gate accordingly for Orihime-san"

"Yes of course" Ukitake agreed, recovering a little

"Also, go shake that lazy shit Layne out of bed, if he's wasting time by sleeping in the 4th division he can go pay rent by going and beating up Kira"

Ukitake could sense Joel's grin at the other side of the phone, even if he couldn't see him, and despite himself he chuckled

"Of course, I'll go wake up Layne-kun after the inevitable Captain's meeting that your news brings"

* * *

"Layne"

"Goddammit, I've been back asleep for all of ten minutes, what in god's name do you want!"

Layne sat up and realized he wasn't in the 4th division anymore

Roxas stared at him weirdly and moved away

"Ok, before I go any further, this shit has to stop"

"Fuck that, I love my sleep"

Roxas sighed

_I meant confusing your own zanpakuto spirit for something else, but either way_

"What do you want anyway Roxas?" Layne asked "Moll finally succeeded in waking me up, and I did a full day's work, delivering paper work, and I was going to go back to the real world tomorrow, but I find myself here"

"I'll cut straight to the point, Ichigo got his Bankai back"

"I think I was aware of that… on some subconscious level" Layne admitted "I suddenly just felt better for some weird reason at a point during the day"

"What about you?"

"Eh?"

"Can you keep your promise of being someone that can stand at his side if you can't access your own Bankai?"

"Of course not… but our reasons for fighting are totally different now"

"Don't you want the power to protect?"

"There's no point to great power if only one person can use it, I'd rather all my friends be equally as powerful, so there isn't feelings of people being left behind"

"That doesn't fit with what I know about you"

"Wasn't it you that said you needed to stop underestimating me Roxas? That I know more than I let on, even to myself?"

Layne summoned Oathkeeper, and after a moment's hesitation, Oblivion as well

"Bankai!"

"I know you never lost the ability to do it like Ichigo did, but it's still incomplete"

"That's right; it's only gloves at the moment… but if I concentrate"

Layne rolled back the sleeves of his Shihakusho, and from his shoulder down it appeared to be shimmering and glazing over

"But it's pointless in a Shihakusho" Layne admitted, and the shimmering on his upper arm stopped "I'm human, so I'm just as concerned with style and looks as anyone else, even if I don't seem to care, so it appears that I can't use my Bankai to its fullest extent unless it's clothes that I'm fully comfortable in… and you know it"

Roxas nodded "I think I'm just going to explain things straight up in the future, this vague prodding hasn't slowed down your growth at all"

"Strange that you would try to slow down my growth"

"Wouldn't be any fun otherwise" Roxas said, forcing a grin

_And this way the hollow's takeover is slowed too_

"Don't worry about me Roxas, I'm going to continue to fight… for as long as Ichigo needs to fight to protect, I'm going to hang around and be a general pain in the ass, to keep him grounded… cause this isn't my story, it's his… I've always been much better as a supporting act"

* * *

"So who's on duty tonight?" Ren asked "They would have changed the shifts after I bailed"

"We should get Lieutenants Isane, and Third Seat Rone" Jankz said "It wouldn't matter how many lives we had if we went after Captain Unohana"

* * *

**a/n - The bit of german that Takeda says is from the Bount filler arc, it translates loosely to something like "Open the gate for us Bount"**

**i predict ~5-6 more chapters for this arc, but i won't know exactly till i get writing XD**


	25. Chapter 25: Water's Walking

**a/n - Wow, bit of a break between this chapter and the last one... sorry, I've been focusing on my schoolwork a little but i had sometime to free for this when my grandfather did half my engineering assignment for no reason at all lawl**

* * *

Moll and Isane were the only ones on duty at that point in night, the injuryless spree had continued and no one had any earthly idea why

"Could be that 11th have all been replaced by normal people" Moll commented out loud "Now that would be a nice life, not working long hours with obnoxious bastards like Ikkaku, Yumichika and Jankz, eh Isane?"

Isane giggled a little, but didn't reply

Moll stole a glance at the room where Layne was sleeping

"He must really have been missing out on sleep or something" she mused "It's unlike him to sleep for a week, get up and then go back sleep after a few hours, and he's not snoring, so it means he's dreaming"

Someone clapped a hand on Moll's shoulder and she turned around startled, to see Isane smiling at her

"Rone-san, we're done here"

"Eh? Oh right, I forgot that we don't need a night watch cause no one's sick, that idiot Layne just collapsed in a bed before we even thought of letting him stay in 13th barracks"

Moll took a quick look around and shut the door leading into Layne's room

"Come on Isane, let's blow this joint"

* * *

"Shit!" Jankz cursed

"Quiet you idiot" Ren hissed at him "That was about as stealthy as Zaraki after a fight"

"But I just realized that we didn't bring anything to make a distraction with"

Ren was silent for a couple of seconds and then sighed

"Admitting that you're right would just shatter my faith in the world"

"Oi"

"And that is why I'm glad to admit your wrong… Consume in Darkness, Tsukiyomi"

His katana morphed yet again, this time into a vague sword shape, which from the tsuba to halfway up the blade, was wavy and pointy and then from the end of that the top of the blade was just a double edged sword tip

Ren looked up at the building they were hiding behind and smirked

"This will do nicely"

He slashed straight through a small wooden pole and watched as the black fire immediately began to eat away at the building, spreading in both directions

"Nothing like a bit of a fire to get things started"

* * *

"So what happened to Rukia?" Moll asked "We healed her up, but she didn't stay at the 4th for too long"

"She's resting up at the Kuchiki manor" Isane replied "Her Hakusui was damaged, but that's an injury that will only recover with time, not care"

"Eh, means we get to go out early, so I'm cool with it"

Moll and Isane were walking away from the isolated hospital building that they had been cleaning in, when they heard the sounds of a commotion

They turned around the see the building engulfed in black flames, and a bunch of unseated Shinigami running around attempting to put it out

"Shit!" Moll exclaimed "That's the building we just came from!"

Moll and Isane glanced at each other and immediately began running towards the building

_I hope that idiot isn't sleeping through this too

* * *

_

"Look at these idiots!"

Ren jerked back, surprised by Jankz' outburst

"Are you fucking retarded, we are supposed to be quiet!" he hissed angrily

"They won't hear us anyway, making so much noise trying to put out your fires" Jankz replied "I can be as loud as I want"

Ren facepalmed then glared at Jankz

"Won't they interpret it as cries for help….seeing as we are inside the building?"

"Why are we in here anyway? Seems like a stupid idea to set a building on fire and then go right in as its burning to the ground"

"Don't worry, Tsukiyomi protects me and those I choose with from its flames, you won't get burned as long as you stick close and shut the fuck up"

Jankz finally got the point, and shut his mouth

"Listen, something's coming"

A nearby door burst open and Moll went flying through

"Come on Isane, we're nearly there!"

Ren willed the flames to surround himself and Jankz so they couldn't be seen

"Lucky" he breathed "That's just who we were after"

Moll and Isane ran down the hall to Layne's room, Ren and Jankz following covertly by using the flames as cover

"I don't fucking believe it!" Moll cursed "HE IS STILL FREAKIN ASLEEP!"

"He does this a lot doesn't he?" Isane asked

"I'm beginning to think he sleeps enough for me and Joel too" Moll growled "But I'll kick his ass later, let's get out of this place before the entire building collapses on us"

Ren increased the intensity of the fire so it blocked the entrance, leaving the only route of escape the window

Without bothering to complain Moll simply leapt through the window with Layne on her back, Isane close behind

Leaving Ren and Jankz in the empty room

"Ok, this is our chance" Ren quickly said "Remove their zanpakuto's and then you take them to Kira, I've got a score to settle with the sleeping one"

They leapt through the window

* * *

Ichigo and Orihime emerged from the Senkaimon on the outskirts of Rukongai and fell to the ground, obviously exhausted

"Why… do we always have to run that goddamned gauntlet" Ichigo said "Isn't there a better way to do this?"

"Umm… Kurosaki-kun" Orihime said slowly "Where's everyone else?"

A few hell butterflies flitted overhead and suddenly Hisagi, Ikkaku, Renji, Joel, Nemu and Matsumoto appeared

"What the…? I didn't see you guys running with us?" Ichigo asked quizzically

"Run… through the Koryuu currents... are you nuts?" Renji asked "That's only for people who aren't Shinigami"

"Bastard" Ichigo growled

"Anyway" Matsumoto said quickly, cutting off any potential arguments brewing in the background "Let's go get Jidanbo to let us in, we need to go stop Kira, Hitsugaya-taichou is going to be angry at me anyway, I'd rather not make it worse"

"I hear that" Joel agreed

* * *

Because they weren't expecting anything else to come out of the burning building, Moll and Isane were woefully unprepared for Ren and Jankz's emergence

Before they even realized what was happening, their sealed zanpakuto clattered to the ground and were kicked away

"Bah, that was almost too easy" Jankz said tauntingly "You talk so big in the hospital bitch, but I should of expected that you wouldn't be able to back it up outside in the real world"

"You're… Jankz… and Ren Kashira!" Moll muttered in shock "What the fuck is going on?"

"Oh dear, knowledge about Kira was restricted to Fukutaichou's and above it seems" Ren commented "Suffice it to say that some of our comrades are injured, and we require your assistance"

"Hell no"

"Oh and I'll be taking that deadweight from your back too, I have a score to settle with him"

"Just because we're disarmed doesn't mean we're defenceless! Hado no 33. Sokatsui!"

Ren dodged the blue wave of energy with ease and snorted in contempt

"As if kido matters when you're facing a man who's been hiding out in the 5th division for longer than you're likely to have been alive"

"From what I hear about your kido skills likely the only reason you weren't detected there is because Aizen was a traitor" Moll countered "Shakkaho…. Help me out here Isane!"

Jankz had already knocked her unconscious and thrown her over his shoulder

"Hurry it up Ren!" he complained "Before Unohana-taichou gets here and fucks us both over"

"If you say so"

Ren got in close to Moll and delivered a snapkick to her jaw, and followed it up with a roundhouse punch, knocking her unconscious and causing her to drop the sleeping Layne to the ground

Jankz picked her up and flashstepped off, leaving Ren with the still sleeping Layne

"Alright"

Ren gave a testing kick to Layne's gut which chucked him into the wall

"Man, if you're really going to sleep through this how in hell am I supposed to settle this score fairly?"

"Bah" Layne said standing up, still with his eyes closed and yawning "You didn't need to turn up the heat so much, and kick me so hard just to get me up Moll"

Ren sweatdropped

_I've decided, he's just an idiot with some insane luck, you can't be a combat genius and be this retarded_

Layne opened his eyes and glanced around, instantly comprehending the situation

"Give me two seconds"

He leapt back into the burning building, leaving Ren openmouthed at his stupidity

_I don't even have to fight; Tsukiyomi's flames will take care of him for me_

"Riptide Strike: Surge!"

Layne emerged from the building surrounded by water, Shikai released and looking angry

"Alright you bastard, you're going to explain exactly why this building is on fire and where Moll is"

Ren brought his zanpakuto up into a kendo stance

"No"

_I want to try that new thing you taught me Roxas, I won't need it for this guy but I reckon it could be good practice_

"_Go for it_" Roxas answered inside Layne's head "_I'm ready whenever you are_"

Layne directed his attention to Ren

"I obviously don't have time to deal with you right now, so I'm going to wrap this up quickly, but you can be consoled knowing that you're the first one to see this technique"

Layne stuck Oathkeeper and Oblivion into the ground diagonally so their hilts touched each other

_So I only need to do this longass setup once, and then it's my choice whether to do it or not in the future… right Roxas?_

"_Yeah_"

Layne grinned "Let's go then"

Layne clapped his hands together and then grabbed the hilts of his keyblades, causing waves of light and reiatsu to expand outwards, momentarily blinding Ren who shouted "Pound to Death: Bokusi!" and activated the shield around his body

"Wow" Layne said "This does look cool"

In his hands Layne held what looked like a longer black and white keyblade, a longer hilt and no 'blade' part, instead, the teeth from Oathkeeper was on the top end of the blade, and the teeth of Oblivion was on the other side of that. Giving it the look of a double ended axe

"Not sure if the blade has a name… but this is Riptide Sword Style: River!"

Ren was unimpressed

"So you merged your blades, big fucking deal"

"We'll see just how big of a deal it is" Layne replied, leaping forwards and swinging Roxas down

Ren leapt to the side and attempted a direct punch to Layne's head which he ducked and then a punch to Layne's guts which he backflipped away from

"I remember this, blew me into a wall last time" Layne said easily "How come it isn't doing shit this time"

"I have to hit something for Bokusi's reiatsu blast to work" Ren explained, demonstrating by punching a hole straight through the wall

"Amazing" Layne whistled "So that's why I got blasted even when I blocked"

"I won't give you any more chances to be impressed!"

Ren shot forwards, but his punch was blocked by Layne's zanpakuto

_Impossible…why isn't Bokusi firing?_

"Heh, Roxas wasn't kidding me, this style is a hell of a lot stronger, when you think that last time I met your glove head on I got blasted away

_He blocked Bokusi's blast with the blade's reiatsu?_

Ren backflipped away and attempted to cool his nerves

_That zanpakuto… would increase my strength exponentially if I could acquire it_

Layne tilted his head from side to side, eliciting several loud cracks from his neck

"Sorry, but I've got somewhere I need to be"

Ren widened his eyes as the the point of the blade appeared in front of his face

"Riptide Strike: Torrent"

A jet of water shot forward from the point and impacted Ren directly in between his eyes

He fell backwards to the ground and Bokusi shifted back into a sealed katana

"Kill… me" Ren croaked "It'll be a lot kinder than what Kira has planned for me knowing that I lost

Layne sealed his zanpakuto and knelt down beside Ren

"Tell me about your zanpakuto first before I go, I'm interested in how it changes shape and ability"

"If you tell me what that last attack was"

"Torrent appears as a jet of water, but it's really a high pressure burst of reiatsu that pretty much enters your body and displaces your own reiatsu temporarily, it's a move that requires a lot of luck, and if you've got enough reiatsu left you'll just resist it, but I'm fair sure that recklessly using those gloves bursts left you open to it"

_He said it so easily!_

"You're really green aren't you?" Ren muttered

"Eh?"

"So carelessly explaining your abilities to the enemy, that's something even a first year academy student wouldn't do"

"I never attended Shinigami academy, I'm a 16 year old human, and… Roxas' element is the water, fluid and changeable, so even if you've seen, Surge, River and Torrent there are so many more abilities that I haven't mastered yet or just haven't showed you"

"Whatever, I can't deal with idiots like you anymore…but I'll tell you about Henryuuki"

Layne sat down, and listened intently

"The five forms of my zanpakuto, Band, Cameron, Tsukiyomi, Ookami and Bokusi, are all the zanpakuto of people I've killed"

Layne was reminded of Anita's Kagetsuki

"You fucking monster" Layne growled, punching the ground for emphasis

"Don't misunderstand me; I didn't go out of my way to murder them" Ren explained "We were all ambushed by hollows and they were all on the edge of death, I gave them mercy and only then found out what Henryuuki was capable of"

Layne grinned "Eh, so you aren't a bad guy in the end after all"

Layne got up and began walking away

"Oi!" Ren shouted after him "Where the fuck are you going, come back here and kill me!"

"Hell no" Layne shouted back at him

"You said you'd kill me after I told you about my zanpakuto!" Ren cried out, outraged

"I never had any intention to kill you"

As he said his next words, images of Kieran and Aizen flashed through Layne's mind

"I won't lower myself to _his _level even out of nessecity, so have a nice life"

Ren growled and laid his head back down

_Shit, now I owe that dumbassed greenhorn

* * *

_

Once out of sight from Ren, Layne broke into a full run

_I can still feel their reiatsu... Moll and Isane are still alive, but if that dude wasn't lying, does that mean Kira's here? If so I slept for too damned long again_

"Oi! Trell-kun!"

At the sound of someone calling his name he slowed down and turned around

"Ukitake-san?"

"Glad I caught you, Kira Reiton is here in Seireitei"

"No time, took out one near fire, going to save Moll and Isane, talk later"

And with that he flashstepped off

"…"

* * *

"You got them Jankz?"

"No problem Emi, I'll go get them started down on Daisuke"

Jankz left, and Emi turned around and walked into the building after him, going upstairs rather than down where Kira and Tsubaki were

"We'll be good to go as soon as Daisuke heals up, Kira-san"

Kira spat, surprising Emi and Tsubaki

"Ren's lost, that useless fuck, he tried to take on one of those two kids I marked"

"How can you tell?"

"Can't you feel that reiatsu getting closer; it's like standing on a beach as the little waves get closer"

Personally Emi felt that it was more like a tidal wave

* * *

"Thanks, Jidanbou"

"No problem"

Ichigo, Orihime, Matsumoto, Hisagi, Joel, Renji, Nemu and Ikkaku walked through the gate

And immediately ran into Layne, literally

"What the hell?" Layne exclaimed, from his position at the bottom of a tangle of limbs "You jerks took your sweet time didn't you?"

They untangled themselves

"Shit, I've been tracing the wrong reiatsu!"

Layne flashstepped off again

"What in god's name was that about" Ichigo asked angrily "He didn't even tell us who's reiatsu he was supposed to be tracing"

Joel clapped a hand on Ichigo's shoulder

"Forget it, last time I saw him like that he came home covered in bruises, and then the next day we saw the guys he'd chased after… in the newspaper in full body casts, Lets go find Ukitake-taichou and get the situation"

"We're going to return to our divisions" Hisagi told Ichigo, Joel and Orihime, indicating himself, Matsumoto, Renji, Ikkaku and Nemu "We need to inform our taichous, and get our orders"

Joel nodded "Yeah, no problem"

* * *

A few hours later

"So here's the story little bitches" Jankz explained "My good friend Daisuke here got fucked up by some dude with a rock covered arm, as it's described to me, I don't know who it is, because I've never witnessed any of the Fukutaichou's abilities personally, but you're going to heal him up… and then tell me who beat him up so badly, and I'm going to take my revenge, and if you don't do either of those things then you die"

"Kill us then, we'd rather not heal him, and neither of us as ever seen any of the fukutaichou's arms covered with rocks, and it's fairly likely you'll kill us after we heal him anyway" Isane said confidently

Moll however being inexperienced in situations like this was turning a distinctive shade of green, but to her credit wasn't showing any other visible signs of fear

Moll's eyes suddenly widened and she whispered something in Isane's ear

"We'll heal him then, but we still haven't heard anything about a rock covered arm"

Jankz growled but stalked off, realizing he could just ask Daisuke when he woke up

"Why Moll?" Isane asked "Why do we need to buy time"

Moll looked much improved from her condition three seconds ago

"Can't you feel it Isane? Layne's awake and he's looking for us… we need to buy time till he get's here, and healing this guy slowly will do nicely

* * *

**a/n - Ahh, i haven't had to write a ending note for a while =P**

**wb Wulf also =P**

**i drew up this awesome chart detailing all the plans i've got for Layne's abilites but i can't put it up just yet**

**oh and Buso Renkin! oh god that was freaking awesome  
**


	26. Chapter 25,5: Birthday Omake!

__

**a/n - I felt like writing this simply because it's my birthday on the 27th, happy birthday to all you other 27th of mayers out there**

* * *

Birthday Omake

*pop*

Layne appeared in an empty room and glanced around, completely bewildered

"Whoa, what the hell… I was heading towards Kira… did I go so fast that I flashstepped into nothingness"

Layne gulped with the thought

*pop*

Joel and Moll appeared

"About goddamned time" they said in unison

"Moll! You're ok!...wait…about goddamned time for what?"

*pop*

Ichigo, Uryuu, Chad and Orihime appeared next to Joel and Moll

Uryuu walked up to Layne and began shaking his hand

"Congratulations, Trell it's been an honor associating with you, and I hope it continues for many more years"

"I don't get where you're coming from" Layne said in confusion "What's with the sudden congratulations?"

"And you say you're so clever" Ichigo sniggered

"Not that your much better" Layne retorted "Someone tell me what's going on!"

"It's your birthday today you retard" Joel said, the grin he sported taking away the malice of the insult "Your 17th, on the 27th of May"

"How in hell would you know? I've never told anyone my birthday"

"If you go back and read Chapter 21" Chad cut in "You may have no explicitly said it, but you told Rangiku-san, Hisagi-san, and Nemu-san, though Nemu-san was the only one who remembered it"

"Is this really important right now?"

*pop*

TheTaicho's, Fukutaicho's and Ikkaku, Yumichika, Hanataro and Rukia all appeared, all bearing gifts, and tables bearing food and drinks appeared around the room

Layne's jaw hit the floor

"Suck it up slackjaw" Moll scolded him, with a slap "This is a fully certified 4th wall breaking-canon defying-party bonanza, so let's drink… and be merry"

"I'm sorry, but I cannot participate, or allow you to participate… Alcohol isn't allowed to be served to minors" Chad said sternly

"There's non-alcoholic stuff as well" Joel explained hastily

_Spoilsport_

Layne, Joel and Moll grinned at each other, having all thought the exact same thing at once

"Well… I guess I have no choice in this" Layne said, faking exasperation "I'll just have to celebrate my 17th with you guys"

*pop*

Kira, Ren, Jankz, Daisuke, Emi, Takeda and Tsubaki appeared

"Whoa!" Layne yelled "What in hell are they doing here"

Jankz grabbed him in a bear hug

"There's no hard feelings in a party right? We've already broken the 4th wall once and the writer is obviously a nice enough guy to let us party with you"

"Well… if the writer says it's ok, I'm not going to argue"

"Does this mean Aizen, Kieran and those guys will turn up too?" Layne asked Moll, raising an eyebrow

Moll started rubbing the back of her head

"Actually, if they'd been coming they would have been here before that lot… I did send them an invite"

"Well whatever"

Layne moved into the throng of the crowd and headed for the food

* * *

Inside Las Noches, Aizen was bored of his latest incarnation of things to do while he waited for the Hogyoku to mature

"Is it something you should physically touch?" he asked

"No Aizen-sama" Tousen replied

"I see… that narrows it down to either justice… or the back of your eyelids"

"Well done Aizen-sama, you have won again"

Aizen groaned comically, and glanced at Kieran, Jed and Anita playing Janken in the corner

_I wonder what they are hiding from me_

"Oi Kieran" Jed muttered "Are you sure it's ok to hide that invitation from Aizen-sama… he's bored out of his mind and that party seemed like a good chance to take the edge off that"

"Yeah yeah… fuck that" Kieran growled "My birthday was four days ago… but I didn't even get so much as a lousy hollow to kill… and Layne gets a fullblown knockout? I won't have any part of it"

Jed and Anita sighed with white mushroom clouds and glanced at each other

_Just can't win with him can we?_

* * *

**a/n - **


	27. Chapter 26: Flippin

**a/n - Sup, HSC is almost over, so i thought i'd treat you guys to this, been in the works for a long time, but i only finished it like 10 min ago **

**Sorry about delays overall, makes people sad.. me especially  
**

* * *

Layne was furious at himself, he kept accelerating far too fast, and then crashing into the Seireitei walls, with not enough time to turn before he realized.

"Once, I could live with… Twice might be annoying, but six times… I freaking hate Seireitei's damned corridors!" he shouted at no one, releasing his frustrations out on the open air

Turning to the nearby wall, he stomped on the ground, and glared where he impacted it

"Alright then… the only solution to this… is more speed!"

* * *

"Ugh" Joel grimaced, a couple of hours later, as Layne woke up from his enforced nap

Joel had found Layne unconscious, several Layne shaped holes through the walls behind him, and one Layne shaped dent in the wall in front of him

"If you can't get around it, burst through it?" Joel asked

"Eh?" Layne replied groggily, looking up "Why are you quoting me, help me up"

"You idiot" Joel sighed, shaking his head "You're so calm usually, but when you get fired up, you get fired up"

"Condemn later" Layne said curtly, as he brushed himself off, and cracked the knuckled on his hollowfied hand "The hand actually provides good bursting power, so I can actually live up to my platitude"

"Where are you going?"

"To kick Kira's ass, rescue Moll, just generally shatter their skies"

"Let's get going then"

"I'd move faster alone"

Joel smacked Layne on the side of the head

"What the hell was that for?"

"What, you think you're stronger than I am?" Joel asked

"No, not at all" Layne replied

"Good, then there's no problem with me coming along"

* * *

"Kira-san"

"Oh, Daisuke, you're patched up… excellent"

Kira stood up, and everyone's eyes tracked her

"Let's own this shit, you all have your targets, Jankz… you may go kill the healers, if we fail, we're dead anyway, there's no second chances here"

"Yes Kira!" They all said in unison, flashstepping off, with Takeda unable to shunpo, he just rode Sai away

"_Better hide my reiatsu now" _Kira thought "_I've given the kid enough time to get here, his fault his friends died"_

She flashstepped off too

* * *

In the room below, Jankz drew his sword, and prepared to execute the helpless Moll and Isane

"I'm going to haunt that useless fucker Layne, if it's the last thing I do in this world" Moll growled

Isane didn't want to point out that being a Shinigami technically meant Moll was already in her afterlife, so she stayed silent

"Curse all you want little bitch, this one is for my good friend Daisuke" Jankz gloated, swinging the edge down

A huge flat chunk of wall blasted him away,

Through the smoking hole, Joel stepped, "I told you Layne, Fist of the Mountain is a hell of a lot more effective than you breaking all the bones in that weird white hand of yours"

"Doesn't matter to me so much" Layne replied, stepping through the hole as well "That hand heals crazy fast anyway, faster than the rest of me even "

Moll couldn't stand it anymore

"STOP PRETENDING TO ACT UNCONCERNED YOU RETARDS!"

"Jeez, Layne, I think she's angry"

Layne walked over, severed hers and Isane's bonds, and handed their Zanpakuto back

"Well, I found you guys, but Kira's not here anymore"

Jankz kicked the huge chunk of wall off himself

"You're the rocky bastard!" He cried out, spotting Joel with Fist of the Mountain, which in Shikai form, covered little over his fist

"Who the hell are you?" Joel asked

Layne eyed Jankz distastefully "You're the bastard that took Moll" he snarled, drawing both his swords

Joel's expression changed from confusion to anger

"Don't bother Layne" he interrupted, throwing up a hand to hold Layne back "This one is mine"

Moll was elated that Layne and Joel were angry for her sake

For about three seconds

"Rise Inside, Sora!"

Layne and Joel turned slowly, and went cold as they caught the glint in Moll's eye

"Aero!"

The resulting blast that issued forth caught Layne, Joel and Isane, and made them disappear, even down to their reiatsu trace

"Thanks for caring" Moll whispered to herself, smiling "But I'm a big girl and I can take care of myself"

Jankz looked at her incredulously "That's some of the stupidest shit, I've ever seen"

"Of course you 11th division types wouldn't understand the value of anything but a direct damage zanpakuto" Moll replied disdainfully "But don't worry, I fully intend to pay you back harder than either Layne or Joel would have.

* * *

To the abject surprise of Ichigo and Captains Ukitake, Kyoraku and Unohana. Layne, Joel and Isane appeared in a heap, in the corridor they were walking down.

"I had no idea her zanpakuto could do that" Joel commented, from the bottom of the pile

"Oh goddammit!" Layne exclaimed, rolling off the top of the pile and standing up "I'm right back where I started!"

Joel glared at Layne "Oi oi Layne, you can't just be ok with Moll taking on that dude by herself"

By now, Layne was calmed down, so he replied "It's aight, she's not retarded enough to pick a fight she knows she can't win"

"Bugger your carefree attitude when your calm" Joel said disgustedly, storming off

Layne cocked an eyebrow at Joel's retreating back

"You could go back, but even if she loses to that guy, she'll never forgive you"

Joel paused at the doorway, then flashstepped off

Layne shook his head, and then noticed Ichigo and the Captains standing around, watching the scene silently

"Awesome, Kyoraku-san, Ukitake-san, I can't sense Kira anymore… so I'm betting she's on the move"

Ignoring Kyoraku's smirk and Ukitake's blanch, Layne grabbed Ichigo's arm and dragged him off

"C'mon Ichigo, let's go break her face"

Layne paused, raised his fist and took on an epic look

"She will have no face!"

They disappeared

"Things have a tendancy of getting out of hand when those two are involved" Kyoraku commented.

Ukitake nodded in agreement "We should get moving too, this is still our mess to clean up"

* * *

The lieutenants assigned to the Kira case in the real world had all split up, and Nemu was on her way back to the 12th division HQ

Unknowingly being stalked by Daisuke

"_I never let those who should of died by my hands, live"_

Nemu wouldn't have known what had hit her

Had Joel not appeared and scooped her out of the way

"You… again" Joel growled

Daisuke sighed "But I'm not interested in fighting you, you won before"

"That's good" A familiar voice said behind Joel "Because I'm plenty interested in fighting you"

The reiatsu in the air became so thick that it seemed to suddenly fuse, and Joel realized he hadn't known that Kenpachi could hide his reiatsu

"All yours Captain Kenpachi" Joel said, quickly disappearing with Nemu for fear of being sliced

"So you're the newest Kenpachi then?" Daisuke asked

"That's right, I'm the strongest!"

"I've beaten a couple of ex-Kenpachi's in my time, let's see how I go up against a current one"

* * *

"I made it in time, this time then Nemu?" Joel asked, smiling lightly as he carried her to the 12th

"How did you know?" She asked expressionlessly, although inwardly, she didn't really give a shit

"I didn't, I got angry at Layne for flipping off the people important to me… then I realized I wasn't keep a close enough eye on some of them myself"

* * *

"Now's as good as ever" Takeda muttered, pulling out a small crystal bottle from inside his jacket and downing it's orange contents in one gulp

He immediately double up, and began glowing

* * *

"Pleassse remind me Missstressss" The head of Sendo Hebi said petulantly "Why we are bothering to sssave that ussselessss sssod Ren:

Tsubaki held Sendo Hebi by the scaly blade, and bashed it's snake hilt in the floor

"Ahh, Thatsss why"

Tsubaki stiffened as she sensed a powerful reiatsu nearby

"Come out" she mumbled, swinging Sendo Hebi and spraying acid at a nearby wall

The wall melted, and Hitsugaya appeared behind Tsubaki

"That was surprised" He said calmly, not sounding surprised at all, while drawing his sword

"Reign over the Frozen Heavens, Hyorinmaru!"

* * *

In the 6th division grounds, Renji was briefing the assorted Shinigami there on the intruders

"This looks like fun" A familiar voice sneering "Might I be able to join in"

Renji immediately drew Zabimaru

"Get out here and fight" he called out

Several Shinigami screamed as Emi's Sword cleaved through them

"Howl, Zabimaru!"

Renji leapt and extended Zabimaru at Emi

"Run, all of you!" He called to the remaining 6th

They began clearing out, and as soon as it was just Emi and Renji she sighed

"It would have been much easier for you, if they were here to block my blade, at the very least… you should have run too"

From paying attention to the escape of his division, Renji wasn't prepared for when she flashstepped behind him, and stabbed forwards

_Shit_

A rocky fist reached out and grabbed Emi's Zanpakuto before it could touch Renji

"We can't run" Joel said confidently, "The whole point of being a Lieutenant is to do your captains paperwork… and to lead by example"

He yanked the Zanpakuto from Emi's grip and tossed it away, then turned to Renji

"What are you doing dude, that's two people I have saved from certain death today"

Emi retrieved her zanpakuto and eyed Joel

"You're the rocky bastard that nearly killed Daisuke"

"I'm famous among you guys it seems" Joel grinned "I'm not even the one you should worry about the most though, however"

"Unluckily for you, Daisuke isn't the one you should worry about from our side, he's nothing compared to me"

"Good thing there's two of us here then" Renji jumped in

"Ready dude?"

"Yeah"

Joel smirked at Emi, and in unison Renji and Joel called "Bankai!"

Joel's Fist of the Mountain extended all the way up his arm, to his shoulder, his sword changed shape, grew a white wing and a blindfold covered his eyes

"Way to the Dawn"

Renji gained a fur cloak covering his shoulders, and his sword transformed into a huge bone snake

"Hihio Zabimaru!"

"Two Bankai's for little old me?" Emi asked, feigning shock

"The idea is to crush you before you use yours" Joel explained

"Ban-"

"Yeah, no" Joel shouted, punching the ground and sending waves of earth forward

* * *

"Found you!" Layne shouted, as he and Ichigo spotted Kira on an absolute million to one chance

"I was waiting for you two to rock up" she acknowledged with a sinister grin

"Drown!" Layne replied, charging straight in

To be deflected by Takeda's doll, Sai

"Man I really hate it when people just pop up from nowhere and get in the way!" Layne raged "Especially by this stupid…thing"

Layne trailed off as he got a look at Sai's new look, Green, with extra arms and a tail

"Oh that's just flipping creepy" Layne complained "I don't need to see that, even Hollow's are better"

Takeda walked into the scene and cocked his eyebrow at Layne

"Forgive me Kira-san, but I would be remiss if I didn't point out that you have little time to waste"

Kira growled, but flashstepped off

"You, who have insulted my Doll… shall die here, unlamented by your friends, your family, and these Shinigami that you swear allegiance to!"

"Oh for god's sakes" Layne sighed "I'm getting somewhat sick of shit getting in my way today"

"Go after Kira" Ichigo said "This guys not worth our time, so I'll take him out"

"Are you kidding, you're much stronger than I am, plus I'm here already"

"Both of you may leave, an invasion of Seireitei is best dealt with by the Gotei 13"

Ichigo and Layne both turned around to see Komamura standing behind them

"Well?"

"We're gone" Layne said, as he and Ichigo flashstepped off

"Now then, let us begin" Komamura said to Takeda

"I've never seen a Dog Shinigami before" Takeda replied with interest

* * *

"Well that was lucky" Layne muttered to Ichigo

"Now we just need to find Kira again" Ichigo replied

"Easier said than done sadly"

* * *

The wall splintered, and gave way as Moll was blown through it

"Sonuvabitch" she muttered as pain coursed through her

"So what happened to all that payback?" Jankz asked arrogantly, stepping through the wreckage of the wall "Cause I'm actually feeling pretty good about mine, like it's almost done, y'know?"

"Patience you jerk, I'm a lategame player" Moll replied, pointing a finger at him as she picked herself up "Hado No.4, Byakurai!"

In contrast to all the previous times that Jankz had seen that spell cast, this one went off with a blast like a cannon, and shot forward far too fast for Jankz to dodge, taking a chunk out of his left forearm

"Ahh!" Jankz screamed, grasping his chunkless arm "You bitch!"

Moll ignored Jankz for a second, as her finger was quite literally smoking, and she quickly blew it out

"Like I said, I'm just getting started" She said with renewed confidence

_No noticeable recoil from that one.. apart from the smoke_

"Well then… so am I" Jankz replied "Kyōryoku na fīdo ni wa jaku wo korosu, Zan'nin na Supika!"

"Whoa… that's a long release phrase you got there"

Jankz' sword expanded from Katana to Machete, and his Tabi changed to silver metal greaves with spikes

"Afraid yet? Bitch?"

"You got nothing"

Jankz appeared behind her "I got this"

Moll instinctively moved to the side, and it saved her life, Jankz only managing to stab her shoulder

"What is that, some kind of overpowered flashstep?"

"Zan'nin increases my speed…. By an amount far too much for your feeble mind to comprehend"

Moll tossed Sora away

Jankz cocked an eyebrow

"Carriage of Thunder. Bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six!, Bakudo 61, Rikujokoro!"

Jankz dodged the Kido easily

"Too slow"

Moll dived for her Sora, and copped a kick in the gut getting it, causing her to cough

_As I thought, waiting for the incantation won't work unless I can…"_

Her thought trail was cut off by Jankz appearing from nowhere and slicing down her left arm

"Shit!" she screamed

"Guess you couldn't stand it, could you, my overwhelming power"

Moll feigned being disabled and began clutching Sora tight, hurriedly muttering under her breath

"Path of Five, walked by three, the white devil blocks the route, and the third one shines"

_Well, here goes nothing_

Moll grit her teeth, and waiting for Jankz to get closer

Then energy welling up in her hand was beginning to hurt, so she bit her lip to refrain from crying out

"Given up then?" Jankz snorted "Ready for the end of your pathetic existence?"

Moll waited until he got just that little bit closer

"Wasn't really much of a fight" He sighed

Jankz was so close now, that was he moving deliberately slowly, savouring his victory

Moll outstretched her right arm, pointing her index and middle finger at Jankz' chest

"Hado no 5, Awaihiyari!"

The resulting ice blast was too close for Jankz to dodge, and Moll screamed in agony as all the bones in her right arm, from fingers to elbow, spontaneously shattered

Wearily, she picked herself up, the pain causing tears to stream from her eyes as she looked at her brand new Jankz ice sculpture

"This is where the payback comes in, Layne or Joel prolly would of let you to thaw, Layne with his I won't kill anyone bullshit, and Joel cause you'd prolly die from the thaw anyway… I'm not that generous

With a vicious kick, she shattered one of his legs, and the rest of him tipped over, fragmenting as it hit the ground

"I wonder if your pieces will feel the thaw… bitch"

* * *

"Well that's one down" Kira muttered "I wonder how long the rest will last?"

* * *

"I told Joel she'd be fine" Layne whispered to himself with a grin

* * *

"Why is it, then whenever me and Layne argue, I'm always the one that comes off looking like a dick?" Joel said to the air

"Why would I give a shit?" Emi replied, thrusting Enkaiookami forward, and causing the whips to dive for Renji

Joel grabbed them like he was yanking hair, and pulled Emi forward, into the path of Zabimaru

"Hikotsu Taiho!" shouted Renji, as Zabimaru spewed forth a red beam of reiatsu, which engulfed Emi completely

Renji landed next to Joel and they knuckle bumped

"Nice work"

"You too"

"You call that a Bankai!" Emi shouted furiously

"This… is a Bankai!"

* * *

**Awaihiyari - Pale Ice Spear, self made kido, doesn't normally encase in ice, thats just Sora's Kido amp crying havoc**

**You should all review, true story**

**(im a little ego starved atm Dx)  
**


	28. Chapter 27: Like Beast:Like Tempest

**a/n - I'll just leave this here... XD**

* * *

The energy being released from Emi's Bankai call forced Joel to drop her Enkaiookami as though it suddenly burned him, and cover his eyes from the inevitable dust onslaught

When he could no longer feel dust whipping at his arm, he removed it and gazed upon the sight of Emi with Enkaiookami… and a very large grey wolf standing behind her, easily the size of Hihio Zabimaru"

"…"

"Fuck me" Joel cursed, punching a nearby rubble wall for emphasis, "Dogs just don't like me"

Without warning, the Wolf pounced over Joel and onto Hihio Zabimaru, growling feroiciously, and Renji's attention was completely attracted

"Now we can have a bit of a fairer fight, One on One, Mr Rock" Emi said, attempting a seducing style tone

Joel wasn't buying it

"Its Joel, Joel Bluzer, 13th division fukutaicho… not Mr Rock"

"Emi Etsuko" she replied, thinking he was buying it

"Not interested, didn't ask" he said curtly, leaping forward and swinging Way to the Dawn in a wide arc

"Neither am or did I then" Emi retorted, sidestepping him

Joel landed and span around on his heels, deflecting Enkaiookami's whip ends with the Fist of the Mountain, and running back towards Emi, to close the range gap

She merely flashstepped out of his way, and appeared behind him

"_She's got speed and range advantage" _Joel realized, whipping around in time to duck, Enkaiookami shaving off a couple of hairs _"I might have to take a few hits if I want to get one in… let alone a good combo"_

Joel steadied his footing, and gripped his sword with both hands, Fist of the Mounting rubbing against his unprotected hand unpleasantly

"_Maybe I should consider gloves" _Joel thought humorlessly "_Stupid rock hurts"_

"Earth's Power: Formation!"

The tiles on the floor split as the raw earth beneath it rose up and attached itself to the end of Joel's Blade and he span the collected tail of dirt and minerals around, slamming it down where Emi was, causing her to flashstepped out of it

Several of Enkaiookami's whip ends snapped into Joel's exposed back, causing chills and a not insignificant amount of pain as the ripped open his skin

Joel grunted in pain falling to his knees, and several more whip ends snaked around and grabbed Way to the Dawn from his hand

"Well now" Emi said, adopting an arrogant tone "This was a whole ten minutes of mine that you've managed to waste… was it really worth your life?" She asked, twirling Way to the Dawn around her finger as Joel struggled to stand

"Well" Joel said, grinning "Im still here ain't i… and Renji's still fighting that stupid wolf"

Emi spat, and tossed Enkaiookami at him with all her strength,

The whips wrapped around him, and dug into the ground, restricting his movement completely

"_What the shit?"_

"Ready to die?" Emi taunted, running forwards with Way to the Dawn aiming for his heart

"_Is it just me or do these people have an abnormal fascination with killing dudes with their own weapons"_

With colossal effort Joel yanked the ends in the ground out and leaned to the side, causing Way to the Dawn to impale his right shoulder… but at the same time, the bindings around his Fist of the Mountain came loose

"Elevation" Joel muttered coldly "Kosciusko"

Joel punched Emi square in the gut, causing her to vomit blood in his face and sending her flying straight backwards into her wolf, which looked like it was about to eat an unconscious Renji, creating one hell of a crater in the 6th division wall

"Yeah" Joel growled, raising his rocky fist to the sky "This is what happens when people tangle with mountains… just because they are there"

Emi rolled out of the crater, and picked up Enkaiookami, the wolf had disappeared and this time she looked more hurt than pissed off… but considering just how pissed off she was, it was probably a miracle she was standing at all

"You fuckers!" She raged, "Now you're all fucking dead!"

Joel stared at her unmoving

"_Well shit" _Thought Joel _"I'm completely drained… and its taking all my efforts to just stand up"_

Emi struggled to Joel, sealing her zanpakuto

"Just…wasting…my…time"

Joel cocked a bloody eyebrow, and pink flowers appeared in the sky around them

"Holy shitballs" Joel croaked "I'm going delirious"

"Scatter, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi"

Emi disappeared in the cloud of pink doom, and Joel turned slightly to see Byakuya approaching

"_Y'know" _Joel thought, giving up the fight to stand and collapsing on his back "_If I could still move… then I'd complain about a killsteal"_

* * *

"Missstressss" Sendo Hebi's hilt whispered warningly "Emi hasss fallen"

"Not yet" Tsubaki muttered, fending off Hitsugaya's latest assault "I'm not ready yet!"

* * *

Kenpachi and Daisuke had large injuries all over their bodies, but neither looked like they really gave a damn

"I haven't had this much fun since my fight with Ichigo!" Kenpachi shouted excitedly "Shame Yachiru isn't here to watch this one!"

Daisuke blocked Kenpachi's side cut and used his free hand to punch Kenpachi in the chin, momentarily dazing him, and allowing Daisuke to bring his sword up and slice off Kenpachi's eyepatch

Daisuke then had a few seconds to stare in shock as his swordless arm suddenly disappeared

"What the fuck!" he screamed in agony, noticing his arm had become a bloody stump on the ground

Kenpachi sounded bored

"Now why'd you have to go and do a stupid thing like that… if you wanted to escalate the fight, the smarter way to do it would've been to use your Bankai"

Daisuke noticed that the reiatsu Kenpachi was emitting now bordered on the monstrous

"_Got no choice now… not after whatever that last strike was made of"_

"Bankai!, Antacchaburu Kaen Toreitai!"

Daisuke's blade sprouted large wings of orange fire, and he ran the edge of the blade on the blood leaking stump where his arm used to be, cauterizing the wound so he could fight better, without blood constantly leaking from his arm

"Heh, I dunno what kinda shit you used to take my arm off" Daisuke muttered "But it doesn't matter anymore!

Daisuke swang his sword so that both wings aimed for Kenpachi, who merely snorted and grabbed the blade with his bare hand

"_Impossible… his skin… It should be melting!" _Daisuke thought, trying to yank the sword from Kenpachi's immovable grasp

"I take my baths hotter than this"

With a fell stroke Kenpachi cleaved Daisuke from shoulder to waist, and watched as he crumpled to the floor

"Time to go find Ichigo" Kenpachi said, walking off,

"_What…what a monster"_

* * *

Komamura was having a rough time against Takeda's doll Sai

Having such a big body meant that the speed of his strikes was affected, and Sai was easily able to duck and weave around, spraying acid and forcing Komamura to go on the defensive

"It doesn't matter what you try to do little doggie" Takeda said lazily, from his sitting position on top of a nearby wall "Me and my Sai will never be harmed by a slow fighter such as yourself

Komamura growled his frustration, and evaded another acid spray

"How about me then?"

An orange blur short from nowhere and applied the beat down to Takeda's unprepared face, kicking him off the wall

Yoruichi grinned down at him

"You arrogant…" Takeda spat, wiping the trickle of blood from his mouth with his sleeve, and picking himself off the ground

"You shall pay for that"

Takeda however, had failed to notice that Komamura had managed to hit Sai with something, and Sai came crashing on top of him

Followed shortly after by the fist from Kokujo Tenken Myo'oh, crushing him

"Thank you, Shihoin Yoruichi" Komamura said formally, sounding thoroughly satisfied

"No worries" she replied, "Now, could you point me in the direction of Ichigo and Layne… there are some disobedient asses that need kicking

* * *

And now, Tsubaki was super pissed off

"Bankai! Kyojin Sendo Hebi!"

Hitsugaya had to leap to the side to avoid being swallowed by an immense brown snake which appeared from nowhere

"_Too close" _he thought calmly

The snake curled around and glared at Hitsugaya

He cocked an eyebrow at it and rolled to the side, and Tsubaki's sneak jump attack missed him

"You're faster that I assumed… brat captain"

Her voice was different to when Hitsugaya had heard it muttered before; this voice was high, cold, and self assured

A vein in Hitsugaya's forehead pulsed dangerously at being called a brat, but he kept his composure,

"It doesn't matter" Tsubaki added "Before Kyojin Sendo Hebi… all of your skills may as well be rats"

"It's a far call to call a dragon… a rat" Hitsugaya shot back

"_I don't want to… but with the added advantage of that huge snake she has, I'm out of options"_

"Bankai! Daiguren Hyorinmaru!"

Ice formed all over Hitsugaya, forming blue wings, an ice claw over his free hand, locking his sword into position and over his feet, forming avian style feet, with great ice talons. Finally, Three Ice flowers appeared in the Air behind him, one beginning to melt slowly

Ignoring Tsubaki, Hitsugaya shot straight up, taking the fight to the sky, where in Bankai form, was currently his domain

Or so he thought

Tsubaki leapt up to join him and the snake literally crawled through the air on a path of solidified reishi to get to his level

No mean feat for a snake that look to be at least a couple of kilometers long

The snake lunged forwards, and Hitsugaya dodged to the side, using it's long body against it as he rushed towards Tsubaki, who merely smirked and jumped as the snake tail whipped from nowhere and caught Hitsugaya full on

"Tactics boy, tactics are what Kira-sama has ingrained into my head, and it is tactics that will allow me to overcome the Cold Blooded disadvantage I have in this engagement"

"_It makes no sense for a reiatsu based snake to be cold blooded" _Hitsugaya thought humourlessly

"_But that's an advantage for me no matter which way you look at it"_

Tsubaki flashstepped next to him and he was forced to cover himself with his ice wings to block the sword stroke, though the acid melted through the ice anyway

Bringing his own sword up, he parried another downstroke from Tsubaki, with another splash of acid catching him in the cheek

She flicked the blade around and scratched his other cheek, some acid dripping into the wound and burning painfully

Hitsugaya jumped back out of melee range

"Hyoryu Senbi!" he shouted, swinging his sword in an arc in front of him and sending a crescent of frozen ice at Tsubaki, who just barely dodged

"_She's moving a lot slower than before"_

The snake came from beneath and Hitsugaya barely dodged it as well

"_It seems to be moving a lot faster though…that's it… I got it"_

The snake came around for another pass, but instead of dodging, Hitsugaya met the thing head on, while avoiding being snapped up and Bankai food

"Ryusenka!"

Ice plunged outwards from where Hitsugaya stabbed into the Snakes head, and within seconds, there was one snake shaped block of ice floating in midair

"Is it really worth wasting your reiatsu to keep a block of ice in midair?" Hitsugaya said calmly

Tsubaki growled, now visibly sweating and Hitsugaya sighed

"Those that don't help themselves… and claim to be good at tactics, those are some of the worst" he said to himself, shattering the snake with a good sword thrust

Tsubaki's head lolled back and she fainted, plummeting to the ground

"When you use that much reiatsu to hold up a huge snake, of course you'll faint after you need to hold up a heavier, frozen snake"

Hitsugaya looked down, seeing the large plummet of dust where Tsubaki had impacted the ground

"That's it then"

* * *

"Well, I guess that's it then" Kira sighed "Useless bastards only bought me a couple of hours"

"My my, I guess you knew what you were talking about then, Jyuu… she turned out to be here after all"

"I did tell you"

Kira's upper lip instantly curled at the sound of the two voices she hated the most in the world

"Kill, Kira!" she snarled, holding the huge scythe in front of her threateningly, as she whipped around to see Kyoraku and Ukitake standing behind her outside the eighth division

"You always did have a nasty temper, Kira-chan" Kyoraku said lazily, tipping his hat up

"Don't look down on me Kyoraku!" Kira replied "I've gotten stronger since you two put me away the first time"

"We could try talking out of this" Kyoraku offered up

"Words are pointless"

"At this point" Ukitake cut in, "I agree"

Ukitake drew his katana, and Kyoraku followed suit with his two, shrugging off his hat and pink kimono in the process

"Thunder become my bla-" Ukitake began, cut off by a wall of water rushing towards the three of them

Kira , Ukitake and Kyoraku dodged it easily, jumping up to nearby rooftops

"Found you!" Layne called out, appearing close to Kira, Roxas in Shikai "Don't worry about her Ukitake-san, Kyoraku-san… I've got a score to even out here"

"You're persistent, you little shit… it should have taken you a bit longer to get here from the location where Takeda's reiatsu disappeared at"

"I didn't fight him, and Ichigo and I split up to find you faster" Layne took a ready stance "On my part, it seems to have worked… this is for all the people you killed in front of me!"

Layne burst forwards, kicking off the ground with incredible speed

"Come on Kira"

Kira deflected Oblivion with the hilt of her scythe and kicked Layne in the crotch, causing him to drop to the ground in agony

"You're slow, and you couldn't even compete with my sealed form…. What makes you think you can stop me when I'm a hundred percent"

Layne rose, feeling distinctly sick to his stomach from that kick "I don't think I can stop you, I know I can… and I'll die proving it to you if I have to"

"Don't go dying on me just yet" Ichigo added, appearing on the scene "Getsuga Tensho!"

Kira easily dodged the blue crescent and smirked at Ichigo

"I don't want to fight you weak shits, I came to fight you two!" she growled, directing her last comments at Ukitake, who was still ready to fight, and Kyoraku who had strangely sheathed both his katana and redonned his pink kimono

"Oi!" Kira growled "What do you think you're playing at"

Kyoraku smirked, and watched Layne getting up

"I don't think you can beat those two, Kira Reiton, and I don't have any business stopping them from proving me right"

Ukitake shot Kyoraku a look that said WTF, but sheathed his own sword anyway, Kyoraku's instincts were usually right

"You may be stronger than you were long ago… but so are we, and those two may surprise you, they certainly surprised us when they appeared here for the first time"

Kyoraku began walking away "Come on Ukitake, there's some paperwork to be done"

Privately Ukitake felt that Kyoraku was tripping acid or something, but went along with it anyway, fully intending to stay around hidden in case Layne and Ichigo started losing

Kira watched, enraged as Ukitake and Kyoraku simply walked away

"Fine then, I'll just kill you from behind" she cried "Mi Gai Da-"

"Surge!" Layne cried out, as he tackled her off the roof, in Surge mode

They landed on rough dirt, and looking up, Layne saw that they were directly under the Sokyoku hill, near Yoruichi's training cave/Hot Spring

"You little shit" she growled "Stop joking around"

"Joking?" Layne said incredulously "Who's joking, im always serious!"

"Bankai!" Ichigo cried "Tensa Zangetsu!"

His clothes changed from the Shinigami uniform into a Black overcoat with ragged edges, and his sword shrank from the oversized meat cleaver, into a standard long sword with a broken chain dangling off its pitch black hilt

"Riptide Sword Style: River!" Layne called

Layne clapped his hands together, causing his keyblades to fuse together to form one two handed keyblade, both white and black

"It doesn't matter what you two use" Kira snarled "I'll kill you both quickly… so consider yourselves lucky that you're the ones taking me on first"

"You talk" Layne began, running forwards alongside Ichigo and crashing River into her Scythe "Too damned much"

Ichigo appeared behind her, so Kira shifted her grip and rammed the hilt of her Scythe into his chin, dazing him

However, Layne took advantage of her change in attention and tried out something completely different

"Riptide Strike: Tempest!"

River gained a sheath of water, and Layne swung the edge down, Kira only managing to deflect it partly by elbowing the side of the blade, therefore receive and nice cut to the leg, and losing part of an elbow

"It's like a chainsaw" Layne said "But it still isn't as powerful as-"

Kira kicked him in the face, and swang her Scythe down, decapitating Layne if Ichigo hadn't blocked with Tensa Zangetsu

"You done now, Layne?" Ichigo asked "I thought you had a score to settle"

"Yeah" Layne agreed "I'm done"

"Oh, so you mean theres another level to your weakness then?" Kira taunted

Layne glanced at her

"Weakness is relative, we're certainly strong enough to kick your sorry ass...like beasts!"

* * *

**a/n - Slowly getting there, slowly D=**

**Im thinking finish next chapter + wrap up and start next arc hopefully, This arc lasted ~14 chapters including next one, and thats about as long as the first arc xD**

**Cheers for the reviews last chapter, and please, drop a line, im always open to feedback**

**someone tell wulf to stop being a baddie and come back and write too, serially**


	29. Chapter 28: Lethal Force

**a/n - you like speed? (not the drug, as in velocity... or typing so fast that i can't use my left hand for a while D=)**

* * *

"Come on; we gonna settle this with words, or with swords… and whatever the hell that weird thing is" Kira taunted, pointing at River

"Riptide Sword Style: Split River" Layne intoned, splitting his hands apart, River forming into Oblivion and Oathkeeper again

"So you weaken" Kira growled

"You don't know what you're talking about" Ichigo replied, rushing forwards with extreme speed, clashing Zangetsu against Kira's scythe

"I've been fighting for longer than you've been alive boy, don't get cocky"

Layne stood back and watch them fight, unwilling to join in as he was now

"_Dammit Roxas…is River really all I'm capable of… really, I can talk big… but I don't appear to be able to back it up ,even with my Bankai"_

"Mi Gai Dageki!"

One of the pitch black energy bursts deviated from its aim on Ichigo and impacted the unprepared Layne, picking him up and tossing him backwards

"Layne!" Ichigo shouted

"His own fault" Kira replied, grinning widely

"Getsuga Tenshou!" was Ichigo's reply

* * *

"What the…" Layne said, looking around at his surroundings "This… this isn't Roxas' lake… this is…"

Layne heard voices from the nearby brown brick house, raised voices

"This is… my house… on that day"

"GET OUT!" a woman screamed "GET OUT, BOTH OF YOU"

"Well you won't find me coming back to this shithole" a male voice replied, one Layne knew all too well "Come on Jed, maybe your little brother will have what we need"

Layne realized he was standing in the middle of the quickest route to Joel's house, so he flipped over the fence, just in time to avoid being seen by Kieran and Jed

"I was downstairs… I didn't move to help Mum, because I was sure I couldn't do anything"

The scene froze and Roxas' voice sounded from behind

"Yeah, you didn't do anything and someone you cared about got hurt"

"What could I do Roxas… I was weak"

"You're being weak now"

Layne felt ashamed, a burning shame that spread from his toes

"What can I tell you Layne, Man the Fuck Up, anything you can do will be better than standing around getting hit by pitch black energy bursts"

Layne said nothing

"…you can go back to classic Layne anytime now"

Layne turned around, and stared at Roxas "I'm going to start over again… from here now"

"Since you put it that way" Roxas said, snapping his fingers, causing Layne to disappear

"Dammit Layne, how come I don't see a proverbial fire in your eyes but rather… churning waters?" Roxas whispered to herself

* * *

"Dammit all" Ichigo growled, wiping a trickle of blood from the corner of his mount with the back of his hand

"I was surprised you managed to cut me with that blunt sword of yours" Kira commented, inspecting the gash in her arm, through the sleeve of her blood red shihakusho

Kira grinned a little "That was fun, but I'm over this, Haburi Kei Gai!"

Black rectangles formed in the spaces between Kira's scythe blades and triangles thicker than Kira's fist formed from the ends of that

"Ready to die?" she said

* * *

Layne woke up on his bed, hearing voices upstairs, and realized what he had to do almost instantly

He jumped out of bed, realizing he was dressed in his normal street clothes, instead of Shinigami uniform

Pausing only for a moment to pull on some fingerless wool gloves, that he felt accentuated his current style, he ran up the stairs and into the firing line

"Just give me the money mum" Kieran said, standing near the front door where Jed was waiting outside

"For the last time Kieran, you've stolen enough from me over the years for me to give you any when you ask politely"

"But you said we'd discuss it" he said obnoxiously

"That doesn't mean yes!"

Kieran made a grab for Kathie's purse, but Layne reached his hand out and grabbed Kieran's arm in a vice grip

"I'm pretty sure she told you to rack off" Layne said lowly, staring expressionlessly at the face of a man who had harmed Layne more than anything else in the world

"Get the hell off me" Kieran snarled, yanking his hand from Layne's grasp "You little shit, I don't give a shit how old you are, you aren't fucking allowed to touch me"

"Please don't fight" Kathie pleaded "I don't need to deal with this right now"

"I don't give a shit what you need" Kieran snapped at her "I need money"

"What you need" Layne countered, wondering when it was Kieran decided he was going to murder the woman in front of him "Is a good solid thrashing"

"And just whos going to give me one? You?" Kieran snickered "I've kicked your ass so many times its ridiculous"

"Shut up, Kieran, and get away from me" Kathie cut in "Layne, instead of starting fights, go study downstairs"

She retreated into her bedroom, slamming the door and locking it behind her

Layne and Kieran stared at each other silently, until Kieran spoke

"This isn't over you friendless piece of shit" Kieran growled

"Backyard, anytime you're feeling like a man Kieran" Layne replied calmly

* * *

Ten minutes later

Kieran appeared, surprising Layne by being so quick

The grass felt cold and slightly damp from recent rain on Layne's bare feet and soaking the very bottom of his jeans

"What are the gloves for?" Kieran said snidely "Afraid your hands are going to get hurt?"

Layne formed a fist with his right hand, coloured normally in this time and answered Kieran's question

"Nah, they're to cushion your face, so I don't hurt it so badly it becomes unrecognizable"

"Oh" Kieran replied with a grin "Well then, I'll let you have one free hit then, see how much damage these gloves will prevent… probably all of it, as shit as you are"

"Don't regret it" Layne said, stepping forward

To Kieran, it looked like Layne threw his arms forwards three times within a split second

That alone surprised Kieran, but not as surprising as what it felt like

Like getting hit nine times, Nose, Forehead, Jaw, Throat, Sternum, Gut, Balls, Bladder and Mouth

Kieran fell backwards, in incredible pain

"You always underestimate people you cocky shit, Of course when you ambush me with ten of your goons and I don't want to cause a scene, then I'll lose… but don't ever get it into your head that I'll let you do to the rest of the world what you've done to this family

Kieran picked himself up

Layne cocked an eyebrow "I knew you were durable, but I didn't expect this"

"You dirty motherfucker!" Kieran howled "I'll fucking kill you for this!"

"You don't have the balls to kill anyone, let alone me"

Kieran cried out like a wounded bull and charged forward "You anime watching, friendless, waste of space, I'll destroy you"

Layne grabbed the back of Kieran's head, and used his own momentum to increase the speed of the knee Layne applied to Kieran's face

"Kai Lo" Layne muttered "A move I picked up, from anime"

Kieran fell to the ground, unconscious

"You appear to have set this occasion right" Roxas commented

"Shame it's only in my head" Layne said regretfully

* * *

Ichigo slammed into the ground, right next to Layne's body, just as he was stirring

"About goddamned time" Ichigo muttered

"Sorry, Ichigo… I won't hesitate anymore"

Layne and Ichigo rolled to each side to avoid getting hit by Kira's scythe

"Oh, you're back now are you?"Kira noticed

"Bite me" Layne replied "Bankai!"

The clear glass gloves filled with water appeared on Layne's hands, and in addition, clear water filled sleeves from halfway up his upper arm/to halfway across his forearm,

"Oho"

Kira sliced through Layne's head, then stared in surprise as the water her turned into, that her scythe passed harmlessly through

"Sup" The watery version of Layne said, his words slightly distorted

"What is this?" Kira reacted in surprise, swinging her scythe wildly, dissipating Layne into the sky

"Oh come on" she said derisively "That was almost too easy"

Water formed together, coalescing into Layne's shape, and becoming shinigami yet again

"Surprising isn't it?" Layne said calmly "You can't kill me with force like that"

"Aight, fuck this" Kira declared "I'm sick of you two and your shit, Bankai! Kaibutsu Kira!"

The sheer force from Kira's Bankai blew Ichigo away and Layne managed to dissipate just in time to avoid a similar fate

Layne coalesced, and chain swore, loudly at the sight of Kira's Bankai

A wolf that towered over Layne, easily the size of several football stadiums with a ridicuously sized pair of her Shikai scythes attached to its back. Mounted on its back as well was Kira. In her hands she wielded two double edged scythes, each one easily double the size of Oblivion or Oathkeeper, with a chain running from each end of each scythe to her back.

"OP as shit" murmered Layne

Ichigo flashstepped next to Layne, and glanced at Kira's Bankai, in all it's glory

"Would fuck my life be a fair description?" Layne asked

Ichigo nodded

The wolf swung one of those huge scythes at them, Ichigo dodged, and Layne tried to turn to water, but the scythe seemed to keep him solid, causing massive injuries

"Layne!" Ichigo shouted, then the second scythe swung from the other side and took him out too

Kira cackled evilly

"That was nearly too easy, funnily a lot more fun than a prolonged fight would've been too"

The wolf turned around and headed for the Seireitei

"**Oi bitch**" Layne and Ichigo said in unison "**Where the hell are you going?**"

Layne and Ichigo had gotten up, and were now standing still, swords at their sides

Kira turned around, and jumped off the wolf

"You two don't know when to quit"

Ichigo and Layne swung their Zangetsu and Oblivion diagonally upwards, causing a crescent of black and red, and black and dark green energy to fire towards Kira, who was unprepared and took both the crescents head on

"_What the fuck"_ Kira thought surprised by the sheer power imbued in each hit that forced her Wolf Bankai to disappear

Kira took a second look at Ichigo and Layne

Ichigo looked like he was barely standing up, exhausted from the fighting he'd done with Kira while Layne was knocked out, and Kira could see the faintest trace of yellow leaving his irises

Layne on the other hand… had half a mask over the right side of his face, and Ichigo watched in horror as he leapt forwards to Kira, who reflexively blocked his opening strike, but not his vicious secondary leg strike, which took a bite out of her calf

Kira leapt back "What…what are you?" she asked hatefully "Has Seireitei hired hollows to do their dirty work for them now"

Layne didn't reply, just unleashed a flurry of vicious strikes upon Kira, fighting with no regard to his own safety, but not really having to worry since Kira could find absolutely no moment to counterattack

"Layne Stop!" Ichigo shouted "Don't give in to that thing, take control!"

Layne ignored him and proceeded to knock the scythe out of Kira's hands and pushed her her to the floor

Ichigo appeared next to him and blocked his final strike with Zangetsu, keyblade clashing against long sword

With a quick upthrust, Ichigo brought the hilt up and shattered the mask covering Layne's face

The pieces disintegrated as they fell to the ground, and both Layne and Ichigo fell to the ground, ignoring Kira

"I…I can't believe I lost control" Layne said, sounding super shaken, and not seeing Kira swinging her scythe down

"Pound to Death: Bokusi"

Kira's Scythe met Ren's fist Head on above Layne's body

"Ren, is this betraying me?"Kira asked angrily, her Scythe cutting into Ren's hand, even through the glove

"I've been following you since I managed to escape these guys Kira, since we were nothing more than cannon fodder to you, I don't view this as a betrayal"

Ren had an unconscious Tsubaki slung over his back, and he glanced around, keeping an eye out for any of the Gotei 13

"I'm just repaying a favor"

Layne slowly edged his hand over and grabbed Oblivion, which had fallen out of his grasp when he collapsed to the floor

Ren let go of Kira's scythe, and backed away from Kira

"Life for Life, Layne… this was all that I owed you"

Ren started to walk away, but paused and turned back to Kira

"If you don't feel like continuing this stupid pride vengeance thing, I'm sure Tsubaki would love to have you with us, even if I don't"

Kira spat, signifying a negative to that alternative

Ren turned around again and flashstepped off

Kira turned to Layne and Ichigo, lying on the floor

"I'm going to save the best for last here" she said flatly, and she swung the edge down over Ichigo's downed body

Only to stare in shock as a black keyblade penetrated her sternum, and poked out the other side

Layne had gotten up, and attempted to knock her scythe away, but had missed, and stabbed straight through her

"Well" she choked, vomiting up a severe amount of blood on the ground "Who thought a pussy like you could actually kill someone"

Layne said nothing, but stared in shock at what he'd just done

"_Shit… I'm actually killing someone"_

Kira grinned

"Come on" she choked "How does it feel, watching someone's lifeblood drip down to the ground, knowing that you'll never have to deal with them again"

Layne yanked out Oblivion, which was strangely clean

"Fighting and killing are ways of life…I hope you enjoy this path"

Layne knelt down and cried as Kira died

* * *

Much later, when Kyoraku, Ukitake and Yoruichi came to the battlefield, Layne was still crying

"Come on Joel, it's been Ten days since he's spoken a word to anyone, let alone left this room" Moll complained, "I don't even know what happened out there"

"Neither do I" Joel replied "Captain Kyoraku and Captain Ukitake brought him, Ichigo, and Kira's body back… she was killed by one of them, and they said Layne was crying"

Moll and Joel instantly glanced at each other

"You don't think…"Joel began

"Oh no" Moll cut in, kicking the door to Layne's room open

"The fuck? He's not in here"

* * *

Layne sat on the Sokyoku Hill, looking down on the Seireitei

"_Roxas… I need to know what that thing was… it wasn't the first time it's happened… and it sure as hell needs to be the last"_

Roxas didn't answer, and Layne rolled to the side as he sensed a threatening presence behind him

"Tsubaki!" Ren snapped "That's Layne, he's the one guy we can't kill"

Tsubaki withdrew her sword from the ground and sheathed it

"What the fuck are you two doing here?" Layne asked "I thought you bailed ten days ago"

"We needed a place to hide out until they stop watching our Senkai gate" Ren explained "So we were just wondering what the hell you were doing up here"

"Thinking, I've killed someone… what am I supposed to do now?"

"I was somewhat surprised that you survived Kira, to be honest"

Layne turned around

"I realize that with swords it's hard to not kill, but I'd been achieving that thus far, and I guessed I just thought I could continue without having to kill anyone"

"What's so bad about killing?" Tsubaki spoke up

"It makes me like someone who I have sworn not to be like, at all costs"

"Then don't kill pointlessly" Ren pointed out "Kira was probably someone who deserved it"

Tsubaki slapped him

"From your point of view" Ren added hastily "Look my point is, now that she's dead… all the people she killed can rest easy, even though they won't remember it"

"How am I supposed to rest easy?"

"You stopped her from killing anyone else, if she'd been jailed again, then she would of gotten out, and continued her rampage"

Layne sensed Joel and Moll making their way up the hill to him

"You guys better leave, people are coming"

"What, you mean you aren't going to try and take us in?" Ren asked

"If I was Gotei, I'd have to… I'm not though"

"Well, you won't see us again"

Ren flashstepped off, Tsubaki nodding at Layne and following him

"Dude" Joel greeted "Good to see you moving again"

"Yeah, feels good"

Moll gasped theatrically

"Who are you and what have you done with Layne? he'd never admit that moving felt good"

Joel and Layne laughed

"_I guess, with friends like these, I really got nothing to worry about… eh Roxas?"_

* * *

Later on, Layne, with Joel and Moll met Ichigo and Yoruichi by the Senkai gate that would take them back to Karakura town

"Hey Ichigo, Yoruichi"

Yoruichi punched him

"Ow!" Layne exclaimed, holding his nose in pain "What in the world?"

"Next time you have one of your little logic leap, you tell me or Kisuke about it, Technically we are your legal guardians"

"You're kidding me" Layne said

Joel and Moll just laughed

"Traitors" Layne muttered, looking back at them

Ichigo and Yoruichi moved closer to the gate

"C'mon Layne" Ichigo said

"Yeah, gimme a sec"

Layne turned back to Joel and Moll

"Sure I can't convince you to come with?"

"And go back to school? Not a chance dude" Joel replied

"Aight, catchya next time then"

Layne turned around and followed Ichigo and Yoruichi through the gate

Joel and Moll watched as the Senkai gate closed behind him

"It was really hard to say no that time" Moll commented "I really am going to miss that idiot"

"Even though he spent most of his time here asleep or moping?" Joel asked

"Of course, he's always sleeping or moping"

* * *

**a/n - So it finishes, like a boss**

**Big shoutout to all who provided me Oc's for this section of the fic, you guys rock**

**over 100'000 thousand words... and yet i can remember typing almost each and every one, scary isn't it?**

**also, bugger bleach being on a two week break **

**You know the drill, green button to feed mah ego =P**


	30. Chapter 29: Third Time Around

**a/n - One Day wonder, felt you guys deserved this one as well seeing as i got HSC on friday, so wish me luck 3**

* * *

The loud, unfamiliar sound of the alarm woke Layne from his slumber

"Wahhhh!" he exclaimed, jumping out of bed, shirtless and wild haired

"Wahhhh!" Elias the mod soul in a Teddy Bear replied "How do you look at that face every morning!"

Layne rubbed his hand over his face, and felt the spiky beginning of a beard and moustache

"_Well that's to be expected, I haven't shaved in weeks"_

"I generally don't look at mirrors till after my shower"

* * *

So, Layne showered and headed off to school.

Elias had been covering his classes, so only Ichigo, Chad, Orihime and Uryuu knew that Layne was actually back

"Good morning Trell, your hair appears to be messy again, as usual"

"That bracelet makes you look even gayer" Layne shot back, never appreciating people pointing out his hair

Layne bumped knuckles with Ichigo and Chad, and was greeted cheerily by Orihime, before sitting in his seat, tuning out from Keigo and watching Tatsuki ask about the strange charm that appeared to be tied to Ichigo's pants

The teacher entered and began the lesson, and just as she finished the first problem, Layne's and Ichigo's hollow alarm started going nuts

Ichigo caught Layne's eye questioningly and Layne mouthed "Janken"

After a quick Janken round, Layne using his speed to cheat, Ichigo quickly got out of his chair and rushed out of the room, shouting out "Bathroom!" behind him

"Already?" The teacher said in confusion

Chad and Orihime rushed out as well

"Oi! Orihime, girls should be able to keep it in"

This for some reason caused Layne to snigger uncontrollably

* * *

Ichigo finished off the hollow with ease, and turned to talk to Chad and Orihime

"You guys don't need to come with when it's just these"

"I really just wanted to try running out of the classroom using the bathroom as an excuse" Orihime said

"I think you might of gone a bit overboard with that reason" Chad muttered

Above them, a blond guy wearing a cap was standing upside-down in midair

"Kurosaki… Ichigo, huh?"

* * *

The next day in class, they had the first transfer student since Layne had rocked up at the beginning of the semester

"Hirako Shinji" he said, writing his name up on the board

The teacher looked at the writing closely

"It's backwards"

"Yeah" Shinji said proudly "Doing thing's backwards is my specialty"

Ichigo meanwhile, was lost in thought

"_Uryuu's still wearing that gay bracelet, as Layne put it… I heard about his fight with the 12__th__ captain from Ukitake… and Joel told me what that bracelet was… does that mean since he came to help me, he lost his Quincy powers?"_

Shinji snapped Ichigo out of his train of thought

"I'll be sitting next to you from now on, let's treat each other well"

"Y..yeah, nice to meet you" Ichigo replied, startled, as Shinji settled into the seat in front of Layne and next to Ichigo

At that exact moment, his hollow alarm chose to go off

Once again Ichigo and Layne played Janken… this time in a tie, so both of them rushed out of the classroom, citing bathroom as an excuse

"Sorry" Chad explained to Shinji "That's just how the two of them are"

"Ahh don't worry" Shinji replied "That's pretty much how I imagined them to be"

"_Layne Trell, huh?"_

* * *

"NOOOOO!" Kon screamed, striking a dramatic pose "I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!"

Ichigo looked up from the book he was reading, watching Kon roll around on his bedroom floor

"I want to go out!" Kon wailed "I want to have intimate contact with the smooth skin of pretty girls!"

Ichigo raised a mental eyebrow at that and returned to his book

"Shut up, before Yuzu and the others hear you"

"But how can I not scream!" Kon continued "If you keep me in here, then I'll sue you for stuffed animal abuse… I'LL SUE YOU TO HELL!"

Kon jumped up on Ichigo's desk and laid down

"Sigh, it was a lot better when I was in your body… cause then I could perv and stalk, and you'd be the one to get in trouble… I didn't have a thing to worry about"

Ichigo glared at Kon

"Bastard… don't tell me you actually did those things, they are illegal you know" Ichigo growled

"When Nee-san was still here it wasn't so bad being locked up… COME BACK NEE-SAN!"

"You're annoying, shut up and go to sleep already"

The hollow seal went off, jumping into the air

"Bah, I never thought I'd get used to this things screaming"

Ichigo glanced at the seal, then at Kon throwing a tantrum and made a decision

"Alright"

Pressing on the seal with his hand, he pushed himself out of his body, then used the seal to knock Kon out of his, then placed the Kon pill into his own body

"You can take care of it till I get back, but do anything stupid and I swear…"

"Of course" Kon replied quickly "Take your time!"

Ichigo shook his head and jumped out the window, resolving never to leave Kon alone in his body for long periods of time ever again

* * *

In Layne's house, situated in Urahara's basement, the music was blaring, and Layne was sitting at his computer playing games

Elias ran into the room, holding Layne's wailing Substitute badge by the cord

"Just because you're able to listen to loud music and stupid noises all hours of the night, doesn't mean rational beings aren't"

"I'm being insulted… by my teddy bear" Layne said drolly, taking the badge and knocking himself out of his body

"Use that super arm strength of yours and put me to bed, I was finishing up anyway" Layne told Elias, after he emerged from his body

"Hopefully Ichigo hasn't gotten to this one already"

* * *

Ichigo sliced the Hollow's mask with Zangetsu, and watched as it disappeared

"Well that was easy"

"AHH!" A voice shouted from behind him

Ichigo turned, surprised, seeing a Shinigami with an afro on a nearby roof

"Who in hell are you?" The shinigami asked "Why are you dressed like a Shinigami?"

"Who are you?" Ichigo countered

"Me?" The Shinigami adopted an arrogant tone "I'm Zennosuke Kuromandani, the Shinigami that was handpicked to replace Rukia Kuchiki when she was arrested for something or other"

"_Doesn't Soul Society talk with its representatives? It's been what, a month since Rukia was cleared"_

"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, Substitute Shinigami" Ichigo introduced holding up his badge "Here's my badge"

"Substitute Shinigami, what the hell is that?"

"What the?" Ichigo muttered looking at the badge "This thing is useless"

Ichigo heard the step behind him, felt a powerful reiatsu, and barely swung his sword in time to block the cut from Shinji

"You're… Hirako!, Is that a… zanpakuto… what are you!"

"Hush!" Hirako replied, putting his finger over his large grin "You shouldn't make a racket, Ichigo Kurosaki, with a reiatsu as uncontrolled as yours, if you lose your composure, you'll be found out too easily"

"Found out?" Ichigo repeated "By whom?"

"You're asking me who?" Hirako replied "Do I have to tell you every little detail, figure it out for yourself"

* * *

Behind Uryuu, a hand poked out of the thin sky, and a hollow poked through

Uryuu turned around, eyes open in shock

* * *

"Ah!" Kon exclaimed, stopping suddenly "That was scary, I thought Ichigo saw me for a second"

Kon continued running

"I must live this temporary youthfulness to its fullest!"

Unbeknowest to Kon, a hollow ripped through the sky behind him

"Kurosaki…Ichigo" it growled

* * *

As Layne was returning to the Urahara store, he was jumped by a woman wearing a sailor school uniform, and wielding a long sword

Painfully aware of the existence of renegade Shinigami thanks to the recent Kira incident, Layne instantly drew both of his zanpakuto, but didn't go into Shikai, not wanting to escalate the fight

The woman sheathed her sword, and beckoned him to follow

Confused beyond all reason, Layne was inclined to ignore her, but something in his head told him to just fuck it, and he followed her

* * *

Shinji and Ichigo sprang apart

"Such spiritual pressure" The afro shinigami exclaimed "Those two are monsters"

Shinji looked out to the side and sighed "They're here"

"Shinji… who are you?" Ichigo asked

"See, I told you so" Shinji said, ignoring Ichigo "It's all because you let your reiatsu go loose like that…"

"I'm asking you who you are!" Ichigo snapped

"You're so impolite" Shinji snapped back "Do you really care about that much about who I am?"

Ichigo was silent

Shinji sighed "Fine then"

He rested his zanpakuto on his right shoulder and brought his left hand over his face

"Fine then" he said, as particles began to coalesce in his hand "Take a look at this"

What popped out looked ridiculously similar to a pharaoh's mask

"Do you know what this is?"

Ichigo's eyes widened in recognition, and nearby Layne made an exclamation of surprise and fell out of a tree

Ichigo and Shinji took notice of him, and Layne scrambled to his feet

"A hollow's mask!" he identified in shock

"A hollow's mask, and a zanpakuto… do you two get it yet, I'm a Shinigami, that has crossed over into the domain of the hollows"

Shinji paused for a second, and Layne and Ichigo glanced at each other

"So let's be friends… since I'm a Vizard… the same kind as you two, so join us Ichigo… and Layne… you don't belong, with them"

* * *

"_This one has huge reiatsu… it must be a Menos"_

Uryuu agilely dodged another Cero

"_I didn't wear the bracelet today… but I'm still not helpless against hollow attacks!"_

Uryuu unbuttoned his shirt, and withdrew several small silver tubes

Throwing them at the Menos, he chanted "Feel the wrath of the battle, and accept this sacred chalice… Heizen!"

A silver block shot out of the tube and destroyed the hollow's left arm which instantaneously regrew from the stump, and attempted to puncture Uryuu

Uryuu nimbly dodged and from a ring attached to his upper right arm, pulled a long cord, wrapping it around two nearby trees in the hope that the hollow would run into it and sever itself

"_It's upper body disappeared?" _

From above, the upper body appeared

"_It separated… no, It was two from the beginning!"_

The upper body extended its tongue, aiming towards Uryuu, when a blue beam of energy pierced it

Uryuu landed on the ground and instantly looked towards the beam came from

"That was terrible, Uryuu" a new voice commented

"Your… Ryuuken!

Ryuuken was wearing a white suit and walking towards Uryuu and the unmoving hollow

"Calling your father by his first name… you never change"

The top half off the hollow's tongue began to regenerate, rather noisily

"You're noisy" Ryuuken said, instantly shooting an arrow, which caused the hollow to blow up behind Uryuu

"It's not about stopping the regeneration; you simply overwhelm it before it can regenerate" Ryuuken explained

Uryuu was still dumbfounded "How is this even possible, why do you have Quincy Powers? I thought you looked down on the Quincy… didn't want anything to do with them"

"That is why I called you a fool" Ryuuken interrupted "The words I used were, I have no interest… and you have no talent"

Ryuuken sighed "Unfortuanately, my powers are very different to the useless ones you lost so easily, Ryuuken Ishida is the man, which regardless of his personal wishes has inherited the title of the Last Quincy"

Ryuuken pulled out a piece of silver jewelry which Uryuu instantly recognized as the Quincy cross owned by his grandfather

The bottom half of the hollow leapt up and dived for Uryuu and Ryuuken destroyed it easily

"Uryuu" Ryuuken continued, as if the hollow hadn't appeared "You went to Soul Society before your powers had matured… and came back the powerless fool standing before me"

Uryuu remained silent, inwardly seething at the insult however

"If I so will it, I can return your powers"

A look of surprise overtook Uryuu's face

"Hard to believe? I assure you, I am telling the truth… but I do have one condition"

"_Here's the catch" _Uryuu thought, but out loud, he simply asked "What?"

"You must swear, to forego all dealings with the Shinigami, from now on"

* * *

"WHOA!" Kon shouted, narrowly diving to the side as the hollow used his fist to crush the ground "Wait a minute! Let's try not fighting in the streets!"

"Why do you run, Kurosaki Ichigo!" The hollow shouted "Hurry up and change into a Shinigami!"

"_Why is the Grand Fisher here!, Dammit I always run into shit like this… even If I tell him that I'm not Ichigo, he wouldn't believe me, plus why is his face showing… I've never seen a hollow like that, is that even a hollow?"_

"Enough" Grand Fisher said, increasing his speed and swiping Kon from midair "I only kept this charade up because I believed that you would take Shinigami form… but this tires me!"

Grand Fisher tossed Kon into the ground with such force that a crater appeared

"IF you will not take your form… then I shall simply crush you here!"

"_Oh crap… I can't move"_

A small object flashed over Kon's field of vision, and then suddenly a huge glowing white barrier was placed between Grand Fisher's hand and Kon's body

The light illuminated the object and Kon instantly recognized it

"Tsk tsk" someone said, shaking his head "I told you, you have to keep this wherever you go"

Kon turned around, recognition overtaking his face

"Mr Hollow" Isshin continued "Ichigo isn't home at the moment, so why don't you play with me instead?"

"Who are you?" Grand Fisher asked

"Ahh, how rude of me… I'm Isshin, Isshin Kurosaki"

* * *

Ichigo and Shinji all took notice of the powerful reiatsu signatures at the same time

"This spiritual pressure… its stupidly strong… is it a hollow?"

Shinji glanced at Ichigo questiongly

"_He only just noticed it? Is he really worth all the effort im putting in? And that Shinigami, I don't recognize it, who could that be?"_

Layne on the other hand was just confused

"_Where'd that girl that led me here go?"_

Shinji turned to talk to Ichigo again only to find him and Layne running in the direction of the powerful reiatsu signatures

"Oi, where are you going, we aren't done talking yet!" Shinji yelled

"I Refuse!" replied Ichigo

"I said I wasn't done talking!"

"I don't care; I don't want to be a part of your Vizard… I'm Shinigami, definitely not one of you"

Layne nodded his agreement, and they ran off

"Cheh" Shinji spat "What rude punks"

The woman who had led Layne their appeared in front of Shinji

"Well that went well"

"Yeah yeah" Shinji replied, pulling a phone from his back pocket

"Hello?, It's Shinji… is this Sarugaki-san?"

The voice on the other end of the phone started yelling

"Don't squawk… I'm sorry I failed the mission, but its only a matter of time anyways"

* * *

"Kurosaki…" The Grand Fisher said slowly

"I see, so you are Ichigo Kurosaki's…"

"Father, that's right" Isshin finished

Isshin turned to Kon, and tossed the small charm

"That charm was meant for you to begin with, Kon"

"Since when have you know I wasn't Ichigo" Kon asked, confused

"Since that first time at the graveyard… if you think about it, I've never called you Ichigo while you've been in Ichigo's body"

"I see" The Grand Fisher began "If his father is a Shinigami, then Ichigo Kurosaki is the real thing… and there is no shame in my loss from before"

"But you Isshin" Grand Fisher continued "I don't care about you, I only came to kill Ichigo… If you're his father… then hand him over"

"I don't know where he's gone, he's not a child anymore" Isshin replied "Besides, I've always been fairly relaxed with the rules in my house"

"Liar" Kon cut in "You're super strict with the girls"

"That's different" Isshin demurred "Anyway, even if you're not interested in me… I came here to kill you, so if you don't fight seriously… it will be a problem"

Grand Fisher began laughing

"You… came to kill me? You sure talk big Shinigami… haven't you realized by now that I'm no ordinary hollow!"

Grand Fisher shattered the top of his mask, and both his reiatsu and physical size increased, till he stood taller than the nearby ten-storey buildings

"Look carefully, see the extent of my power!"

"So stupidly huge!" Kon gasped "Nothing like the Menos I saw before"

"Menos!" The Grand Fisher asked derisively "Do not confuse me with those lowly things… I am…"

"Arrancar" Isshin finished "A group of Hollows that removed their hollow masks and gained the powers of the Shinigami, am I right?"

"You're actually pretty knowledgeable" Grand Fisher acknowledged, reaching up behind him and grasping the hilt of the sword slung over his back "So you should realize… that you can't beat this sword!"

"A zanpakuto!" Kon identified "But, it's almost as big as he is!"

"Exactly, you should recognize that the size of the sword is relative to the reiatsu of the wielder… in other words, your twig can't even compare!"

"Oh yeah?" Isshin said "Why don't we give it a try then"

"So you are one of those Shinigami without regard for their own safety… fine then"

Isshin and the Grand Fisher swung at each other with blinding speed

So fast that Kon had no idea what happenend

"Allow me to tell you some basics… Shinigami Captains all keep their zanpakuto to a useable size consciously… otherwise Lieutenants and up would be swinging around Zanpakuto the size of skyscrapers… much like what you are doing"

Isshin sheathed his Zanpakuto as a huge slice appeared on the Grand Fishers front and back

"So just remember… you can't judge your opponents strength by the size of his zanpakuto… you aren't fit to even talk about strength until you understand that"

* * *

**a/n - It's over like a boss D=**

**There's been some confusion over which part is which so i'm going to state it here, and i'm renaming the story simply to Bleach Triple Plus**

**Arc 1 - Soul Society - Chapters 1 - 14**

**Arc 2 - Kira - Chapters 15 - 28**

**Arc 3 - Arrancar - Chapters 29 - so on**

**Done here, R&R if you are so inclined, and i hope you enjoy this third arc and find that it's equal to or greater than quality than the first two =)**


	31. Chapter 30: Scramble

**a/n - Once more, another new chapter =D, enjoy**

* * *

"One…hit…k.o" Kon muttered in awe, staring at Isshin's back

"_This is ridiculous… is that really Ichigo's stupid dad?"_

"Did you have your revenge?"

Isshin looked up at the newcomer

"So you came… Urahara"

"Long time no see, Isshin-san, looks like you are as good as ever"

"Why so serious?" Isshin asked

"Well, I figured if you'd become weaker… and you decided to blame me… it might be a pain"

"Pfft" Isshin sounded derisive "If I'd become weaker I wouldn't blame you, I'd just accept it and move on"

"So, how does it feel… being back in that body, the Shinigami form that you abandoned twenty years ago?"

Isshin sighed

"So-so"

"Are you free from guilt now?" Urahara asked lightly

"I guess so… it was less about the hollow itself as it was, my lack of ability to save Masaki on that night"

"With that attitude… you look like your son"

"Hell no I don't" Isshin said, adopting a grimace

"Speaking of which… did you notice?"

"Yeah"

"It's just like you said…they contacted him and Trell-san as well"

"The Vizards huh… a group of criminals that gained hollow powers"

"To contact Kurosaki-san and Trell-san then it must mean"

"Yeah, they're probably preparing as well… just like us, then they felt it too, the sudden growth of the Arrancar"

"Then that hollow you just killed, it was an Arrancar wasn't it" Urahara asked, tipping his hat down

"Yeah, but compared to all the fake arrancar we've seen before, this one was much… much more powerful, the mock arrancar had gotten nowhere near that level…in the past few decades?"

Urahara nodded

"You know as well as I do, that Sousuke Aizen is responsible for this… after contacting the fake arrancar… he is using the Hogyoku to create real arrancar, That one was powerful… but confused, I believe it was a prototype… very soon he'll lead proper arrancar to take over the Menos Grande and emerge from the darkness to swallow our world"

Isshin stopped, and glanced at Urahara

"What are we going to do then?"

"We'll think of something, both of our friends and foes will take action… Us, Kurosaki-san and Trell-san, The Vizards and of course… Soul Society"

* * *

In class the next day, the thoughts running through Ichigo's heads could not be slowed

"_We are the Vizards_"

Shinji's face appeared in Ichigo's mind, along with images of His and Layne's transformations

"_And you are one of us… you don't belong with them"_

Sitting over in the corner, similar thoughts were going through Uryuu's head

"_You have to swear to forgo all dealings with the Shinigami, now and in the future"_

Behind Ichigo, even Layne's head was too messed up enough for him to forgo having his head down on the table and sleeping

"_Do you know… what this is?"_

"_Yeah" _Layne replied mentally in his own head _"It's the mask of a murderer"_

"_**You seem to dislike me more and more as the days go on"**_

"_I thought my head talking back to me had finished already"_

An enthusiastic greeting shook both Layne and Ichigo from their reverie

"Good morning Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime and Shinji greeted almost in union

"_Hirako… he came to school like nothing happened"_

Layne noted it as well

"_I wonder if that girl will also turn up"_

"Ah morning…ah Hirako-kun?" Orihime said tentatively

"You remembered my name!" Shinji said excitedly, he hugged her "Morning Orihime-chan!"

"WHAT WAIT A MINUTE YOU!" Keigo instantly yelled out

"What? You're noisy"

"I'm going to forestall this whole argument here" Ichigo muttered, grabbing Shinji by the shirt and dragging him outside "Let's take a walk"

"What's with Ichigo… he doesn't usually do anything in these types of situations" The classes general discussion was

Orihime was surprised, but she quickly glanced at Chad, Uryuu and Layne

Chad nodded, Layne got up and left the room, and Uryuu purposely avoided her gaze

* * *

Ichigo slammed Shinji into the wall

"Ow!, that hurt" Shinji complained "Why are you getting all defensive, it's not like you could get a chick like Orihime"

"That's not it" Ichigo said "But you should apologize to her later… I want to know why you are still coming to school, if I've said no, and then you have no reason to be here"

"What the… you actually thought I'd give up after just one attempt? Ichigo, I'm a very persistent person, I'll keep bugging you about it until you say yes"

Shinji pushed Ichigo off him and stood up "It's too late anyway, any choice you had in this matter was eliminated when your hollow mask showed up… once a Vizard, always a Vizard"

Ichigo was silent

"You think that your friends are with you… as soon as the hollow takes over, he'll destroy them, along with your family and your future"

Shinji adopted a wicked grin

"I believe you can feel him getting stronger every day… so come with me, Ichigo… I'll teach you how to keep your sanity in check"

"What about Layne?" Ichigo asked

"What about him?" Shinji asked "If he doesn't come too same fate is in store for him… come with me Ichigo, I'll teach you how to keep your sanity in check"

Around the corner, leaning against the wall, Layne let out the breath he was holding

"I'm glad I was listening from here" he muttered to himself "If he'd told me that straight out I probably would have shat myself"

* * *

After school, Shinji was walking by himself down the side of a road, when suddenly he was kicked into the wall

He turned around swearing angrily, to see a small girl in a red tracksuit, wearing a large katana slung over her back

"Hiyori!"

Hiyori removed a sandal from her foot and caught it in her hand

Shinji went pale with fear

"How long do you want to take on this dumbass!" she yelled at him, emphasizing each syllable with a sizeable sandal slap

"Sorry!" Shinji replied

"Where is Kurosaki Ichigo!"

"Not yet!" Shinji replied hastily

"What the hell do you mean not yet, I told you to say whatever was necessary to get him"

"I can talk all I want, but if he's not listening, he's not listening… same goes for the other one"

"I don't give a shit about the other one" Hiyori snarled

"…found you" Orihime said quietly, approaching them from behind with Chad

"Orihime-chan…" Shinji said, as he and Hiyori turned around to look at them

"Shinji" Hiyori said calmly, beckoning him with one finger

Shinji approached carefully, surprised she hadn't started yelling yet

She grabbed him and headbutted him forcefully

"IDIOT! YOU WERE FOLLOWED!"

Unaffected by her outburst, Orihime began speaking

"We asked Trell-kun… and he said "Don't worry about it, I got it, and I think that if I asked Kurosaki-kun, he'd say it's nothing…so I thought I should ask you directly Hirako-kun… Who are you, and what do you want with Kurosaki-kun?"

Hiyori snorted with derision

"Did you think we'd actually tell you?"

* * *

At the Karakura Hospital, Uryuu walked into the director's room, without bothering to knock

Ryuuken looked up from his desk, unsurprised that he came

"There you are, now tell me your answer"

Uryuu instantly replied

"I want my powers back"

"And?"

Uryuu paused "…And I swear that I will never have anything to do with the Shinigami…or their friends ever again"

"Hiyori Sarugaki" Hiyori announced boldly

"Huh?" Orihime and Chad replied, taken aback

"What do you mean huh?" Hiyori asked "That's my name, what are yours?"

"Orihime Inoue" Orihime said

"Yasutora Sado" Chad followed suit

"HA!" Hiyori burst out "A princess and a tiger huh? Those are some pretty fancy names; we only have an Ape and a Hira… I'm really jealous of you two"

"What the heck is a Hira?" Shinji asked "So I'm the only one that isn't even a thing… don't include me if you aren't going to make it make sense"

Hiyori slapped him

"Also… what is with those huge boobs and long silky hair, looking at you makes me want to be sick"

"You have short hair and small boobs, your bias is beyond measure" Shinji said behind her "And your only targeting Orihime-chan"

Hiyori slapped him again

"Ah well" she said, reaching for her zanpakuto "I got nothing else to say now… so I guess I'll just kill you"

Before she could draw her Zanpakuto, Shinji grabbed her and started running

"Excuse us!" he called as he bailed

"Wait!" Orihime shouted desperately

"Inoue… stop" Chad said slowly

"Sado-kun"

"If we chase after them… we'll really get killed"

* * *

Ichigo crashed on his bed, deep in thought

"_I can hear it… and I've seen it on another person as well, after I kicked him out during the fight with Byakuya… that mask that kept appearing disappeared and I heard that guy talking to me… egging me on, urging me to go further… taking over again in the fight with Kira for a short moment… and he's getting louder, I don't need Shinji to tell me that… if this keeps up, then he's devour me… and what should I do… about that?"_

A similar train of thought had occurred to Layne

"_I know what you are now"_

"_**Feel like an idiot because it took you so long?**__"_

"_I never feel like an idiot"_

"_**Well, I feel you are an idiot… and when this body is mine, there are going to be some serious changes around here… starting with the earrings**__"_

"_What makes you think you're getting the body?"_

"_**Simple… you can't do a thing to stop me"**_

A sudden blast of reiatsu shook Layne from his reverie

"_Whoa, what the hell is that?"_

Layne knocked himself into Shinigami Form, and sprinted towards the direction of the pressure

* * *

Chad and Orihime were heading home, when they felt it too

"This is…"

* * *

The smoke rose from a large crater in the middle of what used to be the East Karakura Oval

Three figures emerged, all wearing wearing white and carrying swords hung at their belts

One was monstrously tall, dark skinned and wearing his vest open, exposing the unnaturally muscled chest and huge hole through it. What looked like the remains of a jawbone was around his neck and he had red markings from the corner of his eyes

The second stood in between the first and final one for height, with a closed shirt and a pale skin tone. He had a band over his eyes, touching the front of his ears on both sides and completely covering both eyes and he had dark green patterns on his forehead, additionally, his right hand, resting loosely over his sword… was a different color to his face and left hand

The final one was the shortest, with half his hair covered by a half rippled hat of some sort, and he had aqua marks around his eyes, which tracked down his face, making him look like he was permanently crying

"Man, I came here a few times with a mask on" The big one commented "But this is far more boring that I remember… and it's hard to breathe too"

"Quiet Yammy" The final one said "You insisted on coming, when I repeatedly said it would be fine with just the two of us"

The visored one said nothing, just began moving his head around

"Yeah yeah" Yammi brushed off, climbing out of the crater and looking around in confusion at the people milling around, wondering what had happened to cause such a large crater

"What's with all these people, why are they staring at me… I guess I'll just eat now"

Yammi made a motion like he was taking a deep breath and white things began soaring into him from all over, and the people who the white things exited from simply fell to the ground… dead"

"Yuck" Yammi commented, rubbing his gut

"Of course" The third one replied "How could such weak spirits have a good taste to them?"

"Well, they kept staring at me like I was a freak"

"They couldn't see us"

"Either way… how many more do we get to kill, Ulquiorra?

"One between you and I, Aizen has reserved another for Viisera…everyone else can safely be ignored"

"We have to find one bug…in this whole nest of them?

"I'm informed that in the human world, there are only four people of significant strength… it shouldn't be too hard to spot one"

Ulquiorra took notice of one person still breathing

"What a surprise" he commented, not sounding surprised at all "We have a survivor"

Tatsuki pulled herself up on her arms

"_Is everyone dead… and who are they?"_

Yammi approached her, grinning widely with malice

"You got hit with Gonzui… but your spirit didn't fly away… so I know you have a strong spirit"

"_I'm going to faint"_ Tatsuki thought

"Ulquiorra!" Yammi yelled "Is she it?"

"Look carefully fool" Ulquiorra replied "She can barely stay conscious from being near you… she's trash"

"So it was only coincidence you survived the Gonzui" Yammi said, sounding disappointed "Bye then!"

Yammi aimed a light kick at her, which would have killed her, had Chad not appeared from nowhere and blocked the kick with Right Arm of The Giant

"Huh?" Yammi said "Who the hell are you?"

"_Crap" _Chad thought "_Even though it was only a half hearted kick… it had so much power, I was right, Inoue wouldn't be able to stand against this guy"_

To Orihime behind him

"Inoue, take Arisawa and run, just like we planned"

"Ok… Sado-kun, be careful" she replied

"Ulquiorra!" Yammi shouted "Is this guy it?"

"Yammi… if you actually bothered to train your observational skills, it would be clear to you that… he is trash too"

"Alright then!"

Chad charged up a blast

Orihime turned around, with a look of horror on her face

Yammi dropped Chad, his right arm ripped in two, and from his arm socket

Orihime dropped Tatsuki and ran back to Chad

"Ulquiorra" Yammi said slowly, enunciating every syllable "Is this girl… trash too?"

"_These two are too strong… Sado-kun must have known we couldn't do a thing… so he chose to stay behind and protect Tatsuki-chan and I"_

"Yeah" Ulquiorra confirmed "She's trash as well"

"Oh yeah!" Yammi said with jubiliation, poking straight forwards, intending to kill Orihime with a single finger

"Santen Kesshun" Orihime muttered

The triangular golden shield blocked Yammi's finger, but cracked at the point of impact

Orihime stood up behind it

"What's the deal with this one?" Yammi muttered in confusion

"Soten Kesshun" she muttered, and another golden shield extended over the remains of Chad's arm, slowly causing it to reform

"Whoa! She can heal too… come to think of it… how is that guy still alive? he's fairly durable"

Ulquiorra took another look at Orihime

"_Heal… no, that is not healing… it's more like the reversal of time… or the replacement of space, I've never seen such a technique before"_

Out loud he said "What a strange human"

Beside him, Visera nodded, his messy brown hair falling slightly over his visor

"_I have to think of something to hold these three off… until Kurosaki-kun can get here… no, why am I thinking about falling back on him already… I need to get rid of them before Kurosaki-kun can get here… then he can have a little peace of mind"_

"Tsubaki!"

A golden streak flew around her

"_I will protect everyone"_

"Koten Zanshun!"

The golden streak of light flew at Yammi, who raised an eyebrow in confusion, and caught Tsubaki in his giant hand, crushing it and dropping the fragments to the ground

"What was that, a fly?" Yammi asked, grinning

"Tsubaki-kun… how?" Orihime despaired

Yammi approached her

"What should I do with this one Ulquiorra… she knows some strange tricks, should we bring her to Aizen-san"

"That's not necessary, Kill her Yammi"

"Ok then"

Yammi brought an open palm down, this time with enough force to ignore her shield if she used it again

He was stopped by a sword point

"Who the hell are you?" Yammi asked Ichigo

Next to Ulquiorra, Visera put a hand on his sword, as if to charge forwards, but Ulquiorra threw a hand up

"This one isn't yours" he warned

"Kurosaki-kun" Orihime said behind him

"Sorry, Inoue… I'm late" Ichigo said, looking her in the eye

"No… I'm sorry, if I was a little stronger…"

"Don't apologize Inoue… but don't worry either, everything will be fine after I beat up all these three!"

Ichigo pointed Zangetsu forwards, holding it with both hands

"Bankai! Tensa Zangetsu!"

The familiar black long sword appeared in his hand

Ichigo took a few steps forward

"Inoue… run"

"Did he say Bankai?" Yammi asked, scratching his head "Ulquiorra, is this our one?"

"Yeah, I'm amazed that your senseless rampage brought him our so easily, Orange Hair, and Black Bankai…he is our target Yammi"

"Lucky! Yammi said "I've saved us the trouble of tracking you down!"

Yammi closed his fist and made a straight punch

Ichigo brought Tensa Zangetsu up and stopped it easily

"Are you the one… who ripped off Chad's right arm?"

"So what?" Yammi asked

"Then… I'm going to take your right arm too"

Ichigo pushed Yammi back, and leapt up, slicing through Yammi's arm easily

Ulquiorra opened his eyes wider, and Visera made a small noise of surprise

"Strange that he cut through it so easily" Visera commented, speaking for the first time, revealing a tenor tone, with a slight Canadian accent

Ulquiorra nodded

* * *

**a/n - Annnnd thats a wrap (at least for this chapter (h))**

**Visera, OC Arrancar of my own design, with probably a few more to come**

**Proceeding apace, good amount of speed in between chapters (i think so)**

**Cheers for the reviews for the last chapter =D**


	32. Chapter 31: Blind

**a/n - *Waves* Surprise, im back (not really, 2/6 exams done and im over it so much its not funny =X)**

* * *

"_That idiot" _Ulquiorra thought "_Though Visera is correct, I did not expect that he would be able to pierce even Yammi's Hierro so easily, especially considering how recent his acquisition of Bankai was"_

Ichigo took a step back and assessed Yammi, covered in the blood leaking from the stump of his arm and breathing quite heavily

"Damn you!" Yammi growled in between heavy breaths "Little shit"

"You can still stand? You're as hardy as you look" Ichigo taunted

"You look like you are experiencing difficulty" Ulquiorra said behind Yammi "Would you like to switch?"

"Shut up!"

Yammi grasped the hilt of the sword tucked in his belt

"Is it really necessary to use your Zanpakuto against him?" Ulquiorra said, slightly condescendingly

"_Zanpakuto!" _Ichigo thought with alarm "_Is that really a zanpakuto… come to think of it, their reiatsu feels weird… broken hollow masks, zanpakuto… are they the same as Hirako… the same as me!"_

A surge of pain rolled through Ichigo and he immediately doubled him,

"_DAMN IT… he's coming… GO AWAY!"_

Yammi took advantage of Ichigo's position to deliver a punishing kick to his gut

"Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime yelled, running towards him

"No Inoue, stay away!"

Yammi backhanded her as she got close and she lay unmoving

"Inoue!"

"Shut up!" Yammi yelled, punching Ichigo square in the face

"I don't know why, but he stopped moving, Die you little shit"

Yammi unleashed a flurry of blows, all but the last few connecting with Ichigo

Yammi looked down in surprise at the crossed blades, one pure white and the other so black it seemed to suck in the light around it

"I made it" Layne announced, staring coldly at Yammi "Bankai"

The clear water filled gloves appeared on Layne's hands and his reiatsu signature increased significantly

"Another one?" Yammi said disbelievingly "How big is this woodwork?"

"Big enough" Layne replied curtly "Riptide Strike: Rain!"

Rather than the normal green reiatsu crescent, this Rain was black, with a darker green edging, and it felt a hell of a lot different to the usual

"_What the…?" _Layne wondered "_The last time a saw a black one of those was when…oh shit"_

Visera had leapt in front of Yammi and dissipated the crescent with his sword, which he then sheathed

"Ulquiorra" Visera said slowly "I am forced to disagree with Aizen-sama's assessment of this situation, these two here, I wouldn't bother sending the Privaron's to dispose of them"

"You can say that if you're still standing from this" Layne muttered, attempting to do something with Oathkeeper, but hunching over as a sudden pain erupted all over his body

"_**Let me out!**__"_

"_OF ALL TIMES, IT HAD TO BE NOW!"_

"_**What better way to make to realize that unless you give up and let me out, you're going to die"**_

"Odd" Visera noted

"_Another set of reiatsu fluctuations… similar to Kurosaki, and the highest point is still above mine… just what is going on here?" _Ulquiorra thought, the slightest trace of alarm making its way into his head

"Again, must be my lucky day!" yelled Yammi, pushing Visera out of the way in his haste to get to Layne

Yammi rained down a torrent of blows upon Layne, who was unable to even harden his reiatsu to reduce damage

"Now die you interfering shit! I'm going to crush you into a blood pulp!"

Visera appeared in front of Yammi and stopped his fist from dropping

"Thank you, Yammi… but this one need not die yet, if he dies he will not learn anything, instead, he can taste the despair that uselessness brings before he bleeds out… if he took my hand, I'll take his eyes!"

With blinding speed Visera slashed across Layne's eyes in one fluid motion, from draw, to slash, to resheathe

Even Yammi flinched at the agony filled cry that Layne let loose, before the pain became too much and he fell to the ground, unable to move his hands to cover his bleeding face

"_**Suffer for your refusal!**_"

"Good enough for me" Yammi said, turning back to Ichigo

"I'll ground you to a bloody pulp! You piece of shit!"

Yammi's finishing blow impacted not on Ichigo, but a blood red shield which shattered as it absorbed the impact, revealing Urahara and Yoruichi

"Sorry I'm late… Kurosaki-san, Trell-san"

"What is this?" Yammi said, exasperated "They just keep coming one after the other"

Urahara and Yoruichi said nothing, just glanced around at Chad, Orihime and Layne lying in separate bloody piles and Ichigo, somehow still standing behind them

"Since you like butting in so much, I'll just kill you first!" Yammi announced, punching straight down

Yoruichi grabbed his arm and flipped him on his back, his weight breaking the ground up as he impacted it

"What?" Yammi yelped in surprise

"I'm going to treat Inoue" Yoruichi said to Urahara "Pass me the medicine"

Yammi quickly leapt up

"Damn you, hold it right there!"

Yammi reached out for Yoruichi who disappeared

Reappearing on the back of his hand and delivering a roundhouse kick to Yammi's face

Yoruichi kept walking as Yammi fell back to the ground

"Yo..Yoruichi-san" Orihime said weakly

"Yeah" Yoruichi replied, kneeling over Orihime

"Ku…ku…Kurosaki-kun"

"He's fine" Yoruichi assured her "Can you swallow?"

"BAH!" Yammi shouted, rising up again from behind Yoruichi

"What a persistent brute" Yoruichi muttered

"I am going to… KILL YOU!" Yammi repeated, opening his mouth wide, a red ball of reiatsu forming

Yoruichi's eyes widened in shock "Cero!" she muttered

Yammi fired

The blast kicked up a considerable amount of smoke and Yammi stood back, satisfied

"Serves you right, It's impossible for dodge my Cero at this range"

The smoke cleared, and Urahara was standing in front of Yoruichi, sword pointed forwards, completely unscathed

"You… who are you… how did you?"

"As you can imagine" Urahara began to explain "An explosion here would be quite dangerous for all of us… so I simply nullified your attack with a similar one"

"What?"

"If you don't believe me, then perhaps you would like to see it yourself? Cry, Benihime"

For the second time that day, a crescent of reiatsu was hurled at Yammi, this time blood red

And for the second time, it was dissipated harmlessly, this time when Ulquiorra, appeared in front of Yammi and slapped it away, like an annoying fly

"Ulquiorra" Yammi said

Ulquiorra snapped his hand back, delivering a powerful blow to Yammi's gut

"What… are you doing?" Yammi asked, doubled over

"Fool, that is Kisuke Urahara and Yoruichi Shihoin, for you it would be impossible to win, no matter how hard you try"

Ulquiorra turned away from Urahara and Yoruichi

He made a strange motion with his hand, and a black portal ripped open in space

"Time to retreat"

"Running away?" Yoruichi asked

A smirk tugged at Ulquiorra's lips "What a foolish taunt, attempting to fight Visera and I while defending those trash… it is obvious who would have the upper hand"

Yammi and Visera entered the portal

"I will report to Aizen-sama, that the fake shinigami he was so interested in, were nothing more than pointless trash"

Ulquiorra entered the portal and turned around

"And unworthy of his attention" he finished

* * *

Later on, the Urahara store was full of crashing and banging sounds

Layne cursed has he stumbled through the store, crashing into everything that wasn't bolted down, and the bolted down stuff too

Unable to accurately judge where the step was, Layne tripped and fell flat on his face

Yoruichi entered the room where Layne was and took note of the destruction left by his passing

"What in the world?" she exclaimed in surprise

She looked down on the floor "Layne!"

"Oh hey, Yoruichi-san" Layne said dejectedly "How's the arm?"

"I told you, you've been blinded, don't worry about anything until we work out what to do"

Yoruichi reached down and grabbed Layne's arm, pulling him up

"This sucks some major ass" Layne complained

"Come on, I'll get you some food, you can't get it yourself"

* * *

"NOOO!" Chizuru shouted "How did you get all those injuries Orihime?"

"I sorta… fell down the stairs"

"No way, you can't get that injured from falling down stairs!"

Ichigo approached Orihime from behind, bandages across his forehead

Orihime turned around quickly "What is it, Kurosaki-kun?" she asked

Ichigo said nothing for a second, and then "No..nothing, never mind" and turned away

"What did he want?" Chizuru asked, confused

"Nothing" Orihime replied quietly "Sorry Chizuru, I need to go to the bathroom"

She quickly walked off, as Ichigo sat on the back of a desk, brooding

"_What the hell, Chad got hurt bad, Tatsuki almost died, Layne is blind… and it's all because I'm weak"_

"Don't apologize to me, and don't give me that look" Orihime's voice floated through his head

"Don't give me that, I lost too, purely because of my own fault" Layne's voice added

"_Aside from apologizing… what else can I do?"_

Ichigo stared at the floor, until he heard people being noisy in the hallway

"So which room is it?"

"No idea"

"What? Didn't you bring the note with you when you left?"

"Ah, I lost it"

"Lost it?"

"Stop arguing, we can just search for their reiatsu"

"But it's the first time I've been in this stupid thing, I can't sense reiatsu properly"

The voices continued arguing, coming closer and closer until

"This is it"

They rounded the corner into the classroom, Renji, Ikkaku, Matsumoto, Yumichika and Hitsugaya

"Osu, how's it going, Ichigo?" Renji asked

"You guys?" Ichigo exclaimed in surprise

* * *

"_Well… on the bright side, this saves me the trouble of closing my eyes to go to sleep" _Layne thought dejectedly, lying on the floor of the Urahara store

Layne heard the door to the store slide open, and assumed it was Yoruichi returning

"Layne?" Joel said, entering the room in the room in his street clothes, a black and white checked hoodie, brown shorts and white shoes "You in here?"

"Joel?" Layne asked, getting to his feet "Whats up mah brudda?"

"Not much brolaf, how about you, the blindfold isn't such a great look for you, works better with my Bankai"

"It would, I don't get reiatsu sight with this one" Layne said to the air in front of him

"Ok Layne, you can stop joking around now" Joel said, from behind Layne

"Who's joking around, I'm dead serious" Layne said, in a confused tone

"Take the blindfold off, and open your eyes"

"I'll take the blindfold off, but it's sort of hard to open my eyes when I have no eyes to open"

"What are you talking about?"

Layne took off the blindfold and faced forwards

"Uh dude, I'm standing behind you"

"That would explain it"

Layne did a one eighty degree turn, facing Joel, showing the sockets where his eyes once were

"Holy…what happened?"

"I lost" Layne said simply "And this was the consequence"

"But Orihime should be able to…"

"Can't heal what isn't there dude""

"Shit dude…what are you going to do?"

"The human body is a resilient thing, my hearing and smell are going to increase to make up for the loss of sight… and I'm hoping that reiatsu sense will join in, but for now… I've been reduced to relying on others to do everything basic for me… and it sucks Joel, the sheer amount of ass this sucks is comparable to how bad Moll is at picking good computer games"

"Whoa, let's not get crazy here" Joel said "Nothing can be that bad"

* * *

"Renji!" Ichigo exclaimed "Ikkaku… Yumichika… Rangiku-san… Toushiro!"

"That's Captain Hitsugaya to you" Hitsugaya muttered, irritated

"What are you guys doing here?"

"Orders" Renji replied "They said to prepare for a confrontation with the Arrancar, we were to go to the human world, and combine forces with the acting Shinigami group"

Ichigo nodded

"What's an Arrancar?"

"What?" Renji asked "You didn't even know what they were and you started fighting already?"

"Idiot" A familiar voice said, one which made Ichigo widen his eyes in surprise and turn around, to see a small figure standing in the window "They're the ones that you got your ass kicked by a few days ago"

"Rukia" Ichigo said softly

"Long time no see, Ichigo"

* * *

"So why are you here Joel?" Layne asked, having been lead down to Urahara's training area and now sitting with him at the top of a cliff face, overlooking Layne's house

"Orders, Me, Ikkaku, Renji, Matsumoto, Yumichika and Captain Hitsugaya are now 'Hitsugaya's advance guard' against the Arrancar"

"Arrancar?"

"One of the things that blinded you?"

"Ah, they're called Arrancar"

"I was really surprised to hear that you and Ichigo lost a fight to be honest, I've always thought that you of all people wouldn't lose to anyone… you've proved it again and again, Me outside the Senzaikyuu, Kieran on the Sokyoku Hill… and later against Kira"

"These guys were different; it was like banging my head against a stone wall"

"You've changed… if you were you, then you wouldn't give me crappy excuses, you'd say 'It doesn't matter how much stronger they are, I won't lose even to strength itself' something that didn't sound weak"

"Well excuse me for losing my eyes" Layne said, offended

"Must suck, having a hollow eating inside of you" Joel said offhandedly

"Yeah it… wait a sec, how do you know?" Layne asked, shocked

"You hear things in my position, I made the mistake of trying to kill you once Layne… I'm not retarded enough to try it again"

"Well then you should have an inkling of what my situation is"

"The Layne I know would say, 'Fuck my Eyes' without it sounding too prison porno-ish and 'Fuck this inner hollow, stupid stuff like that can only fail at getting in my way"

"Joel"

"Yeah?"

"Fuck my eyes, fuck this inner hollow… stupid shit like this is only Nature's attempt to balance my greatness with the rest of the world"

Layne shouted and held his fist up

Joel stood up, and bumped knuckled with it

"That's what I'm talking about!"

* * *

Ichigo had returned home, Rukia's reappearance and sudden kidnapping of him from school had reawakened his fighting spirit

"Ok, now explain something to me… What are those Arrancar's? Why are they after Layne and I?" Ichigo asked

"Let us explain that" a muffled voice said from above

The light cover popped off, and Ikkaku, Yumichika, Renji and Matsumoto poked their heads through

"Whoa!" Ichigo shouted as they all entered the room "What are you doing up there… no, now I want you to fix my light!"

"Well, we do have a spare bulb I suppose" Matsumoto said

"Are you talking about me?" Ikkaku growled

"As far as Arrancar's go" Renji said "They are basically just hollows who have taken off their masks, and gained Shinigami powers, usually the end result is only a little more powerful than a normal hollow, but Aizen was able to finish their transformation, resulting in the two you saw earlier"

"With you so far… apart from the terrible illustrations"

Rukia, who had been drawing said illustrations, threw the book at Ichigo

"Anyway, we planned to quietly observe Aizen, though Captain Ukitake and a few of the vice captains disagreed with this, and before we knew it… Aizen was done and the Arrancar were here… so here we are"

"You guys were chosen?"

"Yeah, by Head Captain Yamamoto himself, Rukia initially because she knows you the best"

"That's not true, I was chosen because of my abilities" Rukia objected

"After Rukia, I was chosen, as well as Joel, probably due to our possession of Bankai, and after that I asked Ikkaku-san to come with us… and then Yumichika wanted to come… and Matsumoto overheard and said she wanted to come… and since Matsumoto wanted to come so badly, Captain Hitsugaya felt like he had to come"

"Is this some kind of picnic to you guys?" Ichigo muttered

"Moving on" Hitsugaya said, appearing in the open window "Aizen has you in his sights, Kurosaki, and while it's true that Arrancars are simply hollows that have taken off their masks, if an ordinary hollow does this… he's no threat at all, to fight in Soul Society, the hollows have to be stronger than a Menos"

"Stronger than a Menos?" Ichigo asked, slightly alarmed "But there's no hollow stronger than a Menos is there?"

Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes and hopped off the window sill

"What I should say, is that there are three classes of Menos, The first, Gillian are what you fought before you entered Soul Society… they are just soldiers, gigantic… but slow and stupid, Captain class won't even break a sweat against those"

Ichigo said nothing, and Hitsugaya continued "The second class is Adjuchas, much rarer than Gillian but exponentially stronger and intelligent, the only thing that Gillians have up on them is the fact that their population outnumbers them one hundred to one, and lastly… the third class of Menos is Vasto Lorde, the most powerful, and the most human like… their numbers are so small, and they exist deep within Hueco Mundo… but a single Vasto Lorde… is stronger than any of our Captains"

Ichigo looked shocked, but didn't break his silence

"This isn't counting the Arrancar, which we don't know how many there are… and we are down three captains, discounting yourself and Trell, we've told you all about the Menos, so I'll give you my personal prediction… if Aizen has ten Vasto Lordes on his side, then we might as well abandon hope now"

* * *

Deep within the bowels of Hueco Mundo, Ulquiorra, Visera and a cleaned up Yammi walked into a dark room

"We have returned safely, Aizen-sama" Ulquiorra announced

"Welcome home, Ulquiorra, Visera, Yammi" Aizen replied graciously "Come, relate the tales of your expedition to your family here"

* * *

**A/n - This author's note has been left suspiciously blank, by a certain lazy sod that goes by the name of v1r1d1an... we apologize for an inconvenience**


	33. Chapter 32: Useless

**a/n - What's up people? Bit of a shorter chapter today, but the ending felt right to cut this one out here, it's pretty exciting**

* * *

"Go Ahead Ulquiorra" Aizen entreated "Show us what you saw and felt in the human world"

Ulquiorra reached up to his face, and pulled out his eyeball

"As you wish" he replied, crushing it

The room was treated to the visions of Orihime, Chad, Layne and Ichigo getting absolutely crushed, and Yoruichi and Urahara kicking ass

Aizen turned attention to Visera

"I trust you were satisfied with your accomplishment?"

"For now, Aizen-sama"

"I see" Aizen said "That's why you didn't kill him"

"Our orders were to kill them if they became a nuisance" Ulquiorra justified

"That's weak" A thick voice said cockily "If it were me, I would of killed them all with a single attack"

"It is fortunate for Aizen-sama, that we aren't you, Grimmjow" Visera replied, turning to look at the blue haired, open shirted arrancar sitting in the corner

"If your orders have the phrase… kill them, then its better that you kill them isn't it?"

"There is no value, or honor in killing an opponent that is not strong enough to provide you with a challenge"

Grimmjow ignored Visera and turned to Yammi "And Yammi, look how badly you got beaten up, you can say there was no point… but all I'm hearing was that you were unable"

"Weren't you watching, I didn't get beaten up by the kid… but by the Sandal Hat and Black Woman" Yammi replied

"You didn't hear me, I said I'd kill all of them, with a single attack"

"Eh?" Yammi growled, getting up

Ulquiorra held his hand out "Enough, you do realize... that we are not worried about the Shinigami as they are now... but as they have the potential to be?"

"Why allow them to achieve that potential?" Grimmjow argued "Better to cut it down now, in case they do achieve their potential"

"If they do" Ulquiorra replied coldly "I'll destroy them, i trust you have no problems with that"

"Apart from what your brothers might say" Aizen interrupted before Grimmjow could retort "I am pleased with your work, Ulquiorra"

"Thank you, Aizen-sama"

Grimmjow sneered, but silently

* * *

"So when are you guys headed back?" Ichigo asked Renji

"I dunno, we can't even think about it until this Arrancar crisis is over" Renji replied

"Well, staying in the human world is fine... but I can't keep all of you here in my room"

"What?" Matsumoto asked "What good are you then?"

"What good am I, don't think you can just freeload here... didn't you all stay at Layne's last time?"

"Would you really shove all of us off on a blind person... who can't help with this anyway. It would A. Put him out, and B. Hurt his morale incredibly, Joel going over there I only allowed because of their history" Hitsugaya said, his tone slightly reprimanding Ichigo for suggesting it

"You're right...but that still doesn't mean you can stay here"

"Not even me?" Matsumoto pouted, unbuttoning the top button of her shirt and kneeling so her skirt rode up

"Button that shirt back up!" Ichigo shouted, covering his eyes with one hand, but having a crack open in between his fingers "Seduction won't work on me, I'm a real man"

"You could at least close that peephole" Rukia muttered to herself, unimpressed

* * *

"Aight dude, I can't stay at yours this time around, so I'll go find Renji and those guys and see what's doing" Joel said, outside the front door of Urahara's store

"Aight man, don't forget to come get me when we need to do some fighting"

Joel burst out laughing

"What's so funny?"

"Your sense of humor never fails to amaze me Layne"

"I wasn't joking"

"Dude... you're blind, I'm sorry, but as it stands that means your useless to our side at this point"

"I see"

"Said the blind man"

"..."

Joel walked off; still chuckling at what he thought was Layne's humour

Layne did a three sixty turn, walked three steps back into the Urahara store and tripped on some carpet, falling flat on his face

"If I still had eyes" he said dejectedly "I'm pretty sure I'd be crying in frustration right about now"

* * *

"Well" Matsumoto said, as they all walked out Ichigo's front door "I guess i could go stay at Orihime's"

"Sounds good" Ichigo replied, "You get permission from her?"

"No, but I'm sure I could arrange something"

Ichigo just raised an eyebrow as Matsumoto walked off, entreating Hitsugaya to join her

"We'll head off too, Yumichika and I will find our own cots" Ikkaku informed Ichigo

"Where are you guys going?"

"Don't care, it's not about the destination, the journey is what matters"

Ikkaku and Yumichika walked off, leaving Renji, Rukia and Ichigo standing outside

"Got any ideas Renji?"

"I'll try Urahara's with Joel probably... I want to see how he got you and Layne too your current levels so quickly... and there's a couple of other things I need to discuss with him as well"

Renji walked off, leaving just Ichigo and Rukia outside

"So... Rukia, where are you staying"

Ichigo turned around and caught sight of Rukia sprinting back into his house

"Oi!"

* * *

Yumichika sniffed the air

"Can you feel that hollow scent?"

"Yeah, but leave it... this place probably smells terrible to hollows with all the Shinigami reiatsu concentrated here"

"_Wierd" _Yumichika thought "_There's something a little off about that scent"_

* * *

A few blocks away from Yumichika and Ikkaku, a portal ripped into the sky, Grimmjow appearing, grinning evilly

* * *

"I wonder where Urahara and Yoruichi have gone?" Layne muttered, still lying on the floor

"_If i get up without help... i'll just trip over again"_

"_**How's life without eyes?"**_

"_Actually, since you can't see either, I'm pretty satisfied at the moment"_

"_**...**_"

"_That's right, reply to that, you cocky bastard, Score one for the Republic!"_

* * *

"Finally" muttered Grimmjow, eyeing the Arrancar that appeared before him, then doing a double take

"Wait, what the hell you are doing here?" he asked furiously

"Forgive us Grimmjow-sama... she caught us and wouldn't let us go unless she was allowed to come"

"Are you all retarded... just kill her"

"You know perfectly well, Grimmjow, That the only reason I'm not in the Espada is because there's not enough spots" the Female Arrancar said

Grimmjow growled

"Anyway, I only came to kill one of them; you can have all the rest"

Grimmjow nodded "Just don't get in my way"

The female Arrancar smiled and disappeared

"Cocky bitch" Grimmjow spat, "Now what have you got for me you cowards"

The Tallest Arrancar stepped forwards

"There seems to be several entities in the area with reiatsu levels that are far above the norm... but none as large as the two reported by Ulquiorra"

"Damn, reinforcements... Let's do our Pesquisa!"

Grimmjow closed his eyes and saw several bright lights

"You were right Shawlong...all right De Roy, Nakim, Edorado and Illfort... I don't care who they are... if they show the slightest bit of reiatsu... kill them, kill them all!"

* * *

"Oh...this wasn't what I expected" Rukia said, frowning

"Yeah, it was _real _difficult to see this coming" Ichigo replied, rolling his eyes at the third bed set up in his sisters room for Rukia

"But I was planning to stay in your closet"

"Don't bug me about it, go ask Dad about it"

"But I brought some things to decorate the closet"

"You can't just pretend this is your own personal hotel you realize?"

* * *

"I can't believe we are waiting out here dude, we can just walk in" Joel complained

"I don't want to talk to Layne... I want to talk to Urahara" Renji replied

* * *

"There's something strange about these things, don't you think Yumichika?"

"What's that?"

"These premade Onigiri... it's so artistic in the roll and the wrapping, and the shopkeeper said they stock the shelves with these nightly... no way could ordinary humans pull this off, there has to be someone controlling them from the shadows"

"Well how about that, I was just thinking the same thing"

* * *

"Im so full" Matsumoto said, sounding satisfied "Your food looks so wierd, but it's so tasty"

"I'm so happy... no one ever wants to try my food"

Up on the roof, Hitsugaya's stomach growled

"Im sooo hungry" he muttered

* * *

"Good, they're all accounted for, so don't let a single one escape" Grimmjow instructed his underlings "Go!"

* * *

"This reiatsu!" Ichigo exclaimed in alarm "It's them!, Rukia!"

"I know!" she shouted back at him "1...2..7! So many?"

"Are they heading this way?"

"Not yet... they are combing the town looking for significant reiatsu levels... they are planning a massacre" Rukia said hollowly

"My god, Layne, Chad, Inoue!"

"Layne and Inoue will be fine, Captain Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Matsumoto are there, and Renji and Joel are at Urahara's where Layne is... but Sado"

Rukia paused and went white as she looked at her phone

"One of them... is already there"

* * *

Ikkaku flipped and landed on a roof railing, in his Shinigami form

"Gotta be... that way" he said, leaping left "Let's go Yumichika"

"Of course"

* * *

Hitsugaya popped a green pill and emerged from his gigai

"Go and hide" he instructed the mod soul, who nodded and ran off

Matsumoto flipped onto the roof

"I asked Orihime to watch my Gigai, so she won't take part in this at all"

"Good, get ready... they are here"

Shawlong and the fat one of Grimmjow's underlings appeared in the air above Orihime's house

"How do you do?" Shawlong asked

Shawlong appeared behind him and suddenly Hitsugaya blocked, his sword drawn

"I am the Undecimo Arrancar, Shawlong"

"Tenth Divison Captain, Toushiro Hitsugaya"

"A Captain, excellent, I appear to have hit the jackpot"

"You're wrong" Hitsugaya replied "You managed to pick the unluckiest lot of all"

* * *

"Sado-san, the treatment isn't finished yet" One of Orihime's Shun Shun Rikka wailed at Chad as he bailed out the front door of his house

"It's fine, go back to Inoue" he called back

Chad exited the house, Right Arm of the Giant formed and ready to roll

"Bah" Someone complained "Not a Shinigami"

Chad widened his eyes in shock as an Arrancar with cloth over half its head appeared in front of him, arm poised to strike

"You lose"

The Arrancar thrust his arm forward incredibly fast with fingers flat, intending to rip a hole through Chad's chest

Even faster, was the hand that reached out in front of Chad and grabbed the Arrancar's hand

"Cut the you lose crap" Ichigo said "The winner is decided after the actual fight"

"Oh, that's right; I'll just wait until I've killed the both of you before I say it then"

* * *

"How's everyone else?" Renji asked

"Looking good, Ichigo's with Rukia, Ikkaku and Yumichika, Matsumoto and Captain Hitsugaya, That bastard Layne who won't let us in is inside"

"What about those guys?" Renji said, indicating the two figures standing in the air above them

"They appear to be the only two here, I can only sense six, two here, two with Captain Hitsugaya, one with Ikkaku and one with Rukia"

"Good, guess our opponents are clear then"

"Yeah" Joel replied, leaping up into the air

* * *

The Arrancar yanked his arm from Ichigo's grasp and took a couple of steps backwards, as Ichigo reached for Zangetsu, slung over his back

"_I'd really have died...if Ichigo had been half a second slower, I would really have died" _Chad thought, readying his arm

"Chad...run"

"Wait Ichigo, I'm already"

"Chad!" Ichigo repeated "Don't worry, leave this to me"

"Ah... alright, I'll leave it to you then Ichigo"

Chad turned heel and ran

"_I guess, I just can't watch your back anymore... Ichigo, I just can't"_

* * *

"Fuck this" Layne growled, standing up "I can't just sit here, blind or not blind"

Layne got up and tested his surroundings, feeling his way to the front door of the Urahara shop

"At the very least, I can fire Rain's blindly" he muttered, walking out the door

"Manager... is this really ok" Tessai asked, observing Layne leave

"If he doesn't learn like this, he won't ever learn how to cope with a lack of eyesight" Urahara said

* * *

Outside, Joel crashed into the ground right next to Layne

"What the, fighting's really intense out here, that crash was so loud"

Joel leapt up

"Layne you retard, what the hell is this?"

"I'm not going back inside; don't treat me like an invalid"

"I could care less about that right now, I'm talking about that!" he yelled, pointing at the female Arrancar that had joined them

"You do realize, that if you're pointing at something, it's useless to me at the moment"

"He's talking about me" The Arrancar spoke, in a voice Layne knew all too well, yet didn't know at the same time

"Layne...why is this Arrancar Moll?"

"Sup?" Mollow asked, grinning widely

* * *

**a/n - So who honestly saw that one coming, seriously... i bet none of you did ^^**

**Aight, catchya's next time, with a proper length chapter**

**Go and read/reread Chapter 4: Spirit Split if you dunno what i'm talking about D=**

**oh and R&R too ;D**


	34. Chapter 33: Back from Blind!

**a/n - What up yo, I heard if you're at this point in my story, you probably like my chapters, so i added a chapter to this chapter so you can chapter while you chapter?**

**Not so funny? **

**Yeah, i didn't think so XD, Enjoy anyway tho**

* * *

"Bet you never thought you'd see me ever again" Mollow said vindictively "Oh, but I suppose Visera already fixed that problem for you"

"I'm sure you have better things to do than gloat" Layne said, ignoring the barb "Cause last time I heard that voice, it was crying in pain as it was propelled by Rain"

"Layne" Joel interrupted "Just what the hell is this?"

"Some copy of Moll's that appeared when she got her Shinigami powers"

"Why does it look exactly like her?"

"Beats me"

"Enough!" Moll said, drawing the sword sheathed at her belt "I find that my former queen was right… you two do talk too much, especially too each other"

"It's Lofl and Akii's team combo, when was the last time we ever lost a game together?" Layne replied easily

"I can't remember Layne, but we aren't using the combo on this one, so head back inside" Joel said, stepping forward

Layne didn't move

"Bro?"

"…"

"Layne, did you hear me?" Joel yelled

"I'm blind, not deaf" Layne snapped back "And by the same token…" He drew both his zanpakuto "I'm blind, not useless"

"Stop screwing around"

"Rise Inside, Sora!" Mollow released

"Make Your Choice, Riku!" Joel followed suit

Layne didn't release his Zanpakuto, not wanting to give himself access to more destructive abilities that could cause damage to the area

Joel interposed himself between Mollow and Layne

"I don't care about you" Mollow told him, "You're just a waste of time"

"You'd pick a fight with a blind man?" Joel mocked "You Arrancar have no honor"

"Honor is a useless thing, and besides… I don't care about the fight, I only want the kill, and I'll be as dishonorable as I have to be to get it"

"Just try it" Joel said, taking his stance "If you say im a waste of time, well, Riku would like to have a word with you"

Mollow pointed the golden and silver keyblade at Joel

"Unlike my counterpart, I didn't inherit any of Sora's utility moves" Mollow said

"Only the ones that can be best utilized for death… Zephyr!"

The resulting Golden bird shot out of the end of Sora and passed harmlessly straight through Joel, who glanced around in confusion

Mollow indicated behind Joel with her chin, and he whirled around

Layne's head was pointed at his chest, where the wall of the Urahara store was visible through the large hole, centered under his neck

"No fair" Layne muttered, falling backwards "I think I would have been instagibbed by that, eyes or no eyes"

"Bitch!" Joel shouted, rushing at her

"Should you really be doing that?" Mollow asked "Six minutes is the longest the human body can survive with it's heart stopped… you could use those six minutes to save him"

She jumped out of the way to dodge his slash, and Joel became painfully aware of the agility difference

"_I'm not going to be able to finish this in six minutes" _Joel realized

"But to make it harder for you, I might just mutilate the body, make sure he's dead y'know?"

Joel made his choice

He flashstepped next to Layne's body, picked it up and flashstepped off

"Shit!" Mollow exclaimed "I thought he would still fight"

She ran after him

* * *

Rukia caught up to Ichigo, still facing off the Arrancar outside Chad's house

"You... what the hell did you tell him?" Rukia asked

Ichigo knew she was talking about Chad

"Nothing, just to stand back"

Rukia sighed and pulled out what looked like a pez dispenser with the worst drawn rabbit in the world on its head

"Step back Ichigo"

"What!" Ichigo turned around angrily "I'm not going to st-" he stopped when he saw the item in her hand

"You went beyond your capabilities in the other fight, you could lose control again"

Rukia popped the cap on the Pez dispenser and swallowed the green pill that popped out, emerging from the gigai in her Shinigami form

"Rukia…you?"

"Speechless?" She asked smiling "I just got my Shinigami power back after that incident with Kira's underling, and I didn't have Urahara's damned gigai sucking them this time either, so it went a lot faster"

The Arrancar dived at Rukia, his fingers pointed like a blade

Rukia barely brought her zanpakuto up in time to block the blow, and it sent her flying

She flipped in midair and landed against a lightpost, launching herself forwards in a counterattack, which was blocked uselessly by the Arrancar's arm, which seemed as tough as armor against swords

"The names Di Roy" He said, "Arrancar Number 16"

"I'm the thirtee-"

"No, no names, no ranks, no need to say anything else, cause from here on in, All of you are dead"

Rukia bounced backwards, landing lightly, a few steps away from Di Roy

"Well, you might not know my rank… but remember my swords name at least then" she said

"Dance, Sode No Shirayuki"

Rukia's zanpakuto grew a long white tassel, and the entirety of the blade went whiter than Layne's Oathkeeper

"First Dance, Tsukishiro" she continued, appearing behind Di Roy, swinging her sword around so a large circular patch of the ground underneath his feet went white

Di Roy looked down in alarm as ice quickly began encasing his feet

He quickly jumped up

"Damn, you little freak Shinigami… you won't be able to do much with just a sword that freezes the land"

He pulled the cloth over his head away, revealing a gap where his right eye should have been, which began charging a Cero

"What a shame" Rukia said

The circle on the ground shot straight up and encased Di Roy, forming a large unbroken pillar of ice

"Sode no Shirayuki does not just freeze the land, anything within its circle of influence…be it heaven or earth, will fall under its icy grasp"

Ichigo looked on in amazement

"Glad that was over quickly" Rukia said, resting Sode no Shirayuki on her shoulder

"A little too quick, in my opinion" A sadistic sounding voice said above Ichigo and Rukia

They looked up in alarm, as the voice was accompanied by the voice of a crushing reiatsu

Grimmjow stood above them, grinning wickedly

"Who would of thought that Di Roy's killer would still be hanging around here, I'll kill you both, I'm the Sexta Arrancar Grimmjow, don't forget about it Shinigami's!"

Grimmjow jumped off the building and landed in front of them, his hands never leaving his pockets

"_Shit, what is this guys reiatsu" _Rukia thought in shock "_The level of this one and the other one… are completely different"_

"Well now, which one of you is it" Grimmjow said, his eyes shifting between Ichigo and Rukia "Which one of you two is the strongest?"

"Ichigo, fall back now!" Rukia yelled

Grimmjow's arm shot through Rukia's chest as easily as a blade through air

"Definitely not you"

"Rukia!" Ichigo shouted, turning around and charging Grimmjow

* * *

Joel arrived outside of Orihime's house, breathing heavily

"Thank fuck, I still got time"

* * *

Mollow arrived, sensing Joel's and Layne's reiatsu inside the house

"Well, if they are hiding in here I might just have to break this house down"

"Bankai, Way to the Dawn" Joel shouted, appearing above Mollow

"Fist of the Mountain!"

The rocky armor appeared on Joel's left arm

"Elevation! Marianas!"

Mollow jumped back, avoid the hammer like punch, which sent chunks of the road flying when Fist of the Mountain impacted the ground

"This is how it should have been from the start" Joel said "Let's see how well you move mountains, you cheap knockoff"

* * *

"Ungh" Layne moaned, shifting a little

"It's ok Trell-kun" Orihime reassured him, though not actually looking at him "You'll be alright"

"Orihime?" Layne asked

Orihime looked down at Layne and gasped in surprise

"Ch" Mollow spat, holding Joel by the throat "I guess for a cheap knockoff, that i move mountains quite well"

She tossed him aside "I expected to win, but this easily is just ridiculous"

"Even your Bankai doesn't give you enough strength for you to be worth killing" she complained

She turned towards Orihime's front door, and saw Layne exiting, his wounds healed and Oathkeeper and Oblivion out

"Look at you, being a good boy and saving me the trouble of breaking down this house to looking for you"

Mollow did a double take and looked at Layne again

"Wait a sec..you-"

Layne disappeared from her sight and she jumped up just in time to avoid being cut by Oblivion

"Bah, I knew I should have used something deadlier than Zephyr!"

Layne jumped up after her

* * *

Zangetsu bounced off Grimmjow's arm like nothing

"You underestimating me, Shinigami?" Grimmjow asked "I don't feel like killing you just yet, so hurry up and show me your Bankai, if you don't I'll do what I did to your pal over there and put a fucking hole in ya!"

"You bastard" Ichigo muttered, but he took his Bankai pose

"Bankai!"

* * *

"You…your eyes…they're back" Mollow said, gazing at Layne's returned eyes

"That's damn right, I'm back from blind" Layne said

Holding Oathkeeper in the air and Oblivion straight our in front of him, he let loose

"Bankai, Roxas Final Form!"

The clear gloves appeared on Layne's hands

"_Strange" _Mollow thought _"I don't recall him ever having a green eye"_

Out loud she simply said "I don't like those eyes"

"That's fine," Layne replied "I'm pretty sick of you using Moll's face"

* * *

"Request for Limit Release approved" the voice in Matsumoto's earpiece said officiously

Matsumoto reached a hand up and effortlessly blocked the fat Arrancar, Nakim, from crushing her

"Thank you" she answered gratefully, then she dropped the earpiece and yelled out

"Captain! Renji! Joel! The limit release has been approved"

"Finally" Hitsugaya muttered, holding his hand over his bleeding chest

"I was getting tired of waiting!" Renji added, above Urahara's store, Zabimaru coiled around him

"Limit Release!" The three of them shouted in unison, their reiatsu collecting around them a bursting outwards, creating a hell of a light show for anyone that could see it"

Renji, Matsumoto and Hitsugaya made short work of their opponents, then all collapsed wearily

Renji knelt down on one knee, the collected pieces of Hihio Zabimaru raining down around him

"_Good thing the Limit Release surprised that guy… I'm not sure I could have taken him on if I'd been maxing out from the start… could all the Arrancar be this powerful?"_

Renji looked up

"Shit… Ichigo"

* * *

Grimmjow jumped back, easily avoiding Ichigo's speed stab into the ground

Ichigo brought Tensa Zangetsu up to slice at Grimmjow's face, but Grimmjow simply caught the blade, not taking any damage from it at all, and hurled Ichigo through several buildings

"Shit" he growled, leaping out of the rubble and seeing Grimmjow's fist appear before his eyes

Instinctively Ichigo flashstepped behind Grimmjow, who was confused when his fist swiped only air

Ichigo brought Tensa Zangetsu down again, but Grimmjow blocked it full on with his arm and kicked Ichigo in the face, blasting him towards the ground

Grimmjow made an incoherent noise of disdain

"This things a Bankai?"

He raised his voice and continued

"You disappoint me Shinigami! All your Bankai does is increase your speed! Is that it?"

Grimmjow looked down, and widened his eyes in surprise at what he saw

Ichigo had Zangetsu held out forwards, and black reiatsu was surging all around him, filling the air thick with its scent

"Getsuga Tensho!" he cried, firing the black wave at Grimmjow

* * *

Oblivion came within Mollow's field of view before she registered that Layne had even vanished

As a result, the small scratch which she sustained hurt her pride more than it did her actual self

"This isn't really how I expected this to go"

"What, you afraid of a fair fight?" Layne taunted "Is it not easy enough for you now that I can see?"

"Of course, that's exactly what I meant" Mollow said sarcastically

Layne came around for another pass, but Mollow swept both his keyblades away with her own and delivered a flat punch to his face, breaking his nose

"Fucker" Layne growled

Mollow turned around and kicked Layne into the ground, where he cratered

"Even with your Bankai, I shouldn't have released my sword to take on weakness such as yours"

"Derived Move" Layne whispered, standing up in his crater

"I'll give you a derived move!" Mollow shouted, flying towards him

Layne aligned Oathkeeper and Oblivion perfectly and held them out in front of him, unwavering as Mollow closed in, faster and faster

Mollow hesitated for a fraction, swearing that something glinted off Layne's now dark green irised right eye

That fraction was what Layne was waiting for

"Riptide Strike: Flood!"

Layne's keyblade's generated two streams of reiatsu, dark green from Oathkeeper and Black from Oblivion, which entwined and shot towards Mollow faster than Layne to bacon

"Oh shi-" She exclaimed, barely managing to curl up in a defensive stance as the stream overtook her

* * *

Ichigo breathed heavily as he eyed the cloud of smoke where Grimmjow had been, The Getsuga had hit him head on, No way had that not done any damage

Grimmjow's arm's were crossed in front of his face, a straight blood gash aligined down his arms and chest where the Getsuga had hit

"What was that just now?" he asked, slowly uncrossing his arms

"A technique of that description…that wasn't in Ulquiorra's report… Shinigami"

"Did that end your disappointment? Arrancar?"

The corner of Ichigo's left eye began turning black, moving across from the side of his face inwards

Ichigo jammed a hand over his eye

"_Wait just a little longer…dammit!"_

* * *

For Layne, the case was much worse, In the small mirror shard Layne could see that his right iris had turned green and the white parts had turned black, and that black was slowly creeping across his left eye

"_Well what the hell am I supposed to do now… it's not like I can just discard half of Roxas, I've never even thought of drawing reiatsu from Oblivion before, and it obviously works… just has one major drawback, aside from one hell of an energy drain…"_

"_**And just what might that be?**_**"**

"_You, you idiot"_

Mollow reappeared in Layne's field of view, out of range of Flood, not that Layne could use it again

"Impressive…I might actually use something other than Zephyr now" Mollow sneered, inspecting the deep gashes up both of her arms, and feeling the clotting blood on her left temple

A hand snaked out and grabbed her hand and she jerked violently

"What the hell! No, I'm not done here!" She yelled at someone

As far as Layne could tell she was arguing with the night sky

Then Layne saw it, The Captain with a visor running over his sightless pure white eyes, his black hair in braids, dressed in similar style clothing to Mollow

"_One would think I would have at least seen the clothes…"_

The Captain disappeared and Mollow turned to look at Layne

"You're lucky this time" she growled

"So are you," Layne replied easily "Next time I'll bring the real Moll to kick your ass…then you'll see what scary is"

Mollow flashstepped away, leaving Layne to collapse and sit down on the ground, leaning against rubble, cursing the hollow in his mind

"_Gotta stop making these bullshit calls, my mouth is going to get me into some serious trouble…"_

* * *

Grimmjow laughed uncontrollably

"This is great Shinigami!"

He reached for the sword hanging at his belt

"I find you …worth killing!"

"_Shit!" _Ichigo thought, still covering his eye "_All that Getsuga and the wound is only superficial?... and I can only use the black Getsuga a couple more times"_

"Oi, don't just stand there!" Grimmjow replied "Cause now, it's my turn!"

"G-"

Tousen appeared behind Grimmjow with Mollow at his side, who stopped speaking in shock

"Withdraw, Grimmjow" he said simply

"Tousen…why the hell are you here!"

"_Isn't that…one of the Captains that defected…and Layne's friend Moll!"_

"You should not need to ask why" Tousen said "Against orders, mobilizing Arrancar and leading them to their deaths in an arbitrary attack on the human world… Aizen-sama is furious"

Grimmjow said nothing

"Come, your punishment…as well as this one's shall be handed down in Hueco Mundo

"Shit" Grimmjow muttered under his breath "Alright"

Grimmjow turned around and watched as Mollow opened a Garganta for the three of them, and walked through it

"Oi!" Ichigo shouted angrily "Our fight isn't finished yet!"

Grimmjow looked behind him and sneered

"Don't kid yourself, Shinigami…the only reason you're still standing, is because our fight isn't over yet… you're at your limit, and I haven't even used my Released state yet"

"Released…?" Ichigo repeated quietly

"See ya, Shinigami… pray you don't hear the name Grimmjow Jaegerjacques ever again"

The Garganta closed behind Grimmjow, and Ichigo stood silently staring at the space where the portal had been for a long time

Eventually, Renji approached from behind, beaten to hell

"So the Arrancar are gone… did you win?"

"No"

"Idiot…you're still alive, so you won"

Ichigo didn't turn around, but his voice hardened

"Don't give me that crap… you wouldn't say that if you were in my position"

* * *

**a/n - Lotta new stuff this chapter, so i'll give a quick rundown**

**Marianas is the name of the deepest place on earth, the Marianas Trench, so when thinking of another Elevation for Joel, it made sense that a straight down punch wouldn't have the name of a mountain, but a chasm XD**

**Riptide Strike: Derived Move: Flood, won't see many derived moves, cause i'm still not sure i like the idea**

**I picture all of Layne's move being overly complex, quite a few of them overlapping and Layne just generally having two or three moves for one purpose, there are exceptions to this (Torrent, Tempest) **

**But hey, he's the water, fluid and ever changing, so it saves me from getting caught in the Ichigo cycle (Blue Getsuga - Bankai - Black Getsuga - Hollow Mask - Hollow Getsuga), but i suppose there isn't much that changes about the moon, when compared to water XD**

**And because i feel like it, here's all the moves for my main 3 oc's that have currently been revealed**

**Layne - Roxas**

_**Riptide Strike**_

**Rain - Getsuga Clone, with a Time Delay**

**Surge - Charges forward, enveloped in water**

**Torrent - Small jet of water, displaces a weakened opponents reiatsu (similar principle to an Execute, except it doesn't kill)**

**Tempest - Reiatsu sheath on Blade, enhances physical combat abilities**

**Spirit of Seas - All out Finale Move, drains Layne completely **

**Maelstrom - Summon's a Rainstorm which may be manipulated for other moves (Spirit of Seas, Tempest)**

**Sword Style: River - Fuses Oblivion and Oathkeeper and changes moves from Rain and Surge to Torrent and Tempest**

**Sword Style: Split River - Normal Stance, base moves Rain and Surge**

**Derived Move: Flood - Derived from Rain, drawns reiatsu from oblivion to join that of Oathkeepers for a more powerful attack**

**Joel - Riku**

_**Earth's Power**_

**Magnetize - Shield of Magnetic Energy - Held on Left arm, bounces back anything physical that comes into contact with it, useless against reiatsu based**

**Formation - Tail of dirt/minerals collected at the tip of the blade, used like a hammer**

**Quake - Earthen Spikes pop out of the Ground whereever Joel wills it, within a radius**

**Fist of the Mountain - In Shikai this is just a glove of rocks, in Bankai it takes over the entirely of Joel's left arm, provides temperature immunity and greatly increases Joel's physical power when striking with that hand**

**Elevation: Kosciuosko - Straight Punch with incredible power**

**Elevation: Marianas - Flying punch aimed straight down**

**Moll/Mollow - Sora**

**Tornado - Multitude of uses for the blast of wind which simple pushes things away**

**Permeate - Phases the user and up to two people in contact with her, able to permeate solid objects below a certain thickness**

**Aero - Area Teleport, the user has to have been in the area she wants to teleport everyone too within the twenty-four hours**

**Zephyr - Bird Shaped Reiatsu missile, has similar properties to permeate at users will, though only affects self**

**So far, sorry for last wall of text which is longer than actual story ._. =P**

**enjoy**


	35. Chapter 34: No Beat

**a/n - So this life as a post HSC student...it's pretty sick, althought doing the HSC to get to it... can't decide whether it was worth it or not **

**Oh, and here's a chapter**

**Enjoy dudes**

* * *

"Welcome home, Grimmjow"

Atop his throne Aizen looked down on Grimmjow and Tousen, his fingers currently resting in the evil finger pyramid of evil contemplation,

"Well?" Tousen asked "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

The blood was still leaking down Grimmjow's face

"Not a damn thing" he said flatly

"You bastard" Tousen growled

"It's all right, Kaname" Aizen cut in, leaning back in his chair "I'm not upset at all"

"Aizen-sama" Tousen said, dismay showing in his tone

Aizen leaned forward again

"I feel that Grimmjow's actions were indicative of a rare kind of loyalty, and extreme desire to serve, is that not right"

Grimmjow narrowed his eyes, unable to tell whether Aizen was being sarcastic or serious

"Yeah, that's right" he said finally

Tousen reached out and grabbed Grimmjow's collar firmly

"What are you doing Tousen?" Grimmjow asked, glaring at him

"Aizen-sama! Allow me to execute this man!"

"Kaname…"

"This is a personal grudge were talking about here, not me breaking the rules anymore" Grimmjow said arrogantly "Is a personal problem with the soldier a problem a commander should let get in their way?"

"I think I shouldn't have to tolerate those who willfully sow discord and wreak havoc" Tousen replied calmly

"For the sake of the Organization even?" Grimmjow asked

"For Aizen-sama's sake"

"Ha! You're a pro at hoisting up that great moral crusade of yours"

"It is a good cause yes" Tousen replied, taking his hand away from Grimmjow's shoulder and placing it on the hilt of his sword

"Justice without cause is nothing more than massacre…however if that massacre has a cause behind it then that is…"

Grimmjow didn't even notice that Tousen had sliced his left arm off until he was crouching in front of him, sword extended out

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! FUCK!" Grimmjow howled in pain

"Hado Fifty Four, Haien" Tousen muttered, lobbing the purple orb at Grimmjow's severed arm, disintegrating it completely

"FUCK, YOU BASTARD… MY FUCKING ARM…I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" Grimmjow screamed

"Stop Grimmjow" Aizen said

The increase in reiatsu emanating from above, more than Aizen's words made Grimmjow stop

"If you were to attack Kaname… then I fear I would have no more reason to pardon you"

Grimmjow spat and walked off

* * *

"So you couldn't even kill one of them?" Kieran raged at Mollow "How fucking useless could you be?"

"If you wanted him dead so badly, next time go yourself" Mollow replied "I'm just as fucking pissed as you are that he still walks this world"

"Shit" Kieran cursed "I knew I couldn't trust anything that wears your face"

"Don't misunderstand me" Mollow growled, flaring her reiatsu in an attempt to intimidate Kieran "The only reason we are on the same side is that I don't dare cross Aizen-sama, I share the same hate for you and your friends as my counterpart"

"Don't you misunderstand me" Kieran replied, his reiatsu completely overpowering hers "The only reason I didn't destroy you on sight is because of Aizen … I don't care if you aren't Moll… you look too much like her for my comfort"

Mollow stalked off, cowed by Kieran's display of superior force

Jed and Anita approached from around the corner

"Arguing with it again?" Jed asked "That slut, as soon as she isn't looking, I'll drop Fuere Tyrann into her back, terrible accident"

"No, I think I've scared it this time" Kieran said "But damned if she couldn't kill off my useless blind older brother, and before he got his sight back too, Damned if I couldn't have convinced Visera to kill him the first time"

Kieran had neglected to mention that the last couple of times he'd seen this 'useless older brother' he'd gotten his ass soundly thrashed by Layne

Anita and Jed glanced at each other and decided not to mention it; after all they weren't much better

"What's with that silence? Are you two not up for this anymore?" Kieran taunted

"I'd light the world on fire, just to watch it burn…and you know it" Jed answered

Anita nodded, grinning wickedly

* * *

"Amazing" Renji whistled, looking at Orihime with a newfound respect "You're healed already Rukia"

Rukia couldn't help but look at herself in amazement

"I healed…incredibly fast" She turned to Orihime, who had stood up to deal with Layne's broken nose

"You've improved really fast Orihime"

Orihime finished with Layne, and turned around waving her hands so quickly that she accidentally whacked Layne's just healed nose, but he walked away like nothing had happened, deep in thought

"Are you healed already… Rukia?" Ichigo approached, looking worn out

"What's with that look?" Rukia asked "Stop being so arrogant, thinking that you're responsible for my injuries"

"Oh" Ichigo said, looking away

"Or if it's about your inner hollow, ask Urahara"

Ichigo nodded, fully intending to ignore that advice

* * *

The next day at school was a real surprise, with Layne, Ichigo, Uryuu and Chad nowhere to be seen all day

* * *

Up on the roof, Hitsugaya was using the mobile phone when he sensed a malevolent presence behind him

A pair of boobs sandwiched his head and a pair of hands covered his eyes

"Guess who!" Matsumoto shouted cheerfully

"Quit playing games Matsumoto" Hitsugaya said irritably

"oo, the Captain is good, he got it first try" Matsumoto said, a little disappointed "What are you doing here anyway, Children in Uniform have to attend school" she said a little mischievously

"The Report"

"Did you say 'Thanks to the limit release, we destroyed them with ease"

"…that gang was just trash, not even Adjuchas"

Hitsugaya sighed, and stood up

"We can't even beat Gillian Arrancer while limited…that is their level" he finished heavily

Chad approached the Urahara store, where Urahara was standing outside, apparently thinking

"Urahara-san …" Chad began

"If it isn't Sado-san" Urahara said "How can I help you?"

Chad knelt down and bowed low to Urahara

"Please Train me!"

* * *

"Go home Layne" Ichigo said, stopping outside the open roller door which led into darkness

Layne had his hands crossed behind his head, and had kept pace with Ichigo since Ichigo had noticed him, wearing faded light blue jeans, a pure black shirt with the English letter T emblazoned upon it, and a hoodie, tie dyed in all shades of blue

"Why would I do that?"

"Cause this is something I have to do alone"

"Ichigo, you've got something black in your eye" Layne said

Ichigo angrily turned to Layne, an explosive tirade dying as he saw that Layne's left eye had black creeping across it

"Don't get all lonesome on me now dude, I need to do this just as much as you do"

Ichigo just nodded and walked through the door, Layne two steps behind him, glancing around as they entered

* * *

"So you finally found us huh?" Shinji said, looking down on the two of them as they entered

It took a second for Layne's eyes to adjust to the lighting, and when they did he looked up, seeing eight people perched on the ruined floors above them

Shinji he recognized, and the girl with glasses, in a sailor's uniform was the same girl who'd led him to Shinji the other night, but the other six were new faces

"That expression" Shinji continued, tilting his brown cap back "You two look like you're determined to be all that you can be… in the Vizard Army"

"For someone who's pretty piss poor at detecting reiatsu, you found your way here easy enough, although the ton we were throwing out to guide you probably helped"

Layne didn't feel like mentioning that several times he'd had to nudge Ichigo in the right direction of the place

"So, Ichigo" Shinji continued "You came here to say, that you intend to join us…right?"

"_Man, I'm being ignored like a boss"_ Layne thought mirthlessly

Ichigo looked up, directly at Shinji

"Hell no!"

"Huh?" Shinji exclaimed in surprise, jerking back at his instant refusal

"Join you guys? Stop joking… I came here, to use you"

"Say again?"

"I'm not here to join you guys, but you are going to teach me how to control the hollow inside me"

Layne was sure whether to facepalm or cheer

"And just who here… is going to teach you, tosser" Shinji asked

"Oh I'll get it out of you"

"How's that?"

"By force"

Ichigo reached into his back pocket and withdrew his Shinigami Seal and pushed himself out of his body, the second he was fully split he was leaping at Shinji

"What a pain" Shinji muttered out of the corner of his mouth, casually stepping on his sword so it flipped up to his waist, where he caught it and withdrew it in time to meet Ichigo's opening strike

Layne quickly moved over to where the other Vizards were standing, watching as their heads moved as Ichigo and Shinji moved from side to side, Ichigo getting destroyed by Shinji

The blond guy with a black suit on was the first one to speak

"That boy, Ichigo…he's squaring off pretty well against Shinji-kun"

"Idiot" Sailor Girl said, glancing at the blond guy with a slight frown "This is far from Shinji being serious"

The next person to speak was one of the largest people Layne had ever seen, in both height and girth, with pink hair, and a green suit

"Yes, but it appears that Ichigo-kun is holding back as well" he said, not taking his eyes off the fight at all

In front of him, the guy wearing a dark green track suit, and glasses, with his afro styled in the shape of a six pointed star confirmed what Layne already knew

"No matter how you look at it, he's scared"

"Scared?" asked the girl wearing a white jumpsuit, with orange scarf, gloves and boots and apple green hair "Of what"

"His hollow, duh…fighting under the fucking gun without calling your hollow out, this is the kind of weakass punk we're letting into our ranks?"

The guy who said that was wearing khaki cargo shorts, and a black basketball singlet with white trimming, and he said it out loud, ignoring the fact that Layne had approached them

Layne held his hand out, pointedly ignoring the comment

"Layne Trell" he said in greeting

Blondie reached for his hand, but was stopped as Sailor Girl jumped in front of him

Layne raised one eyebrow a fraction, without moving the other one, then exulted inwardly as he'd never been able to pull off that before

The Sailor Girl grasped his hand, and tossed him over her head into a wall, breaking his inner exultion

"Don't think that you can just ignore your friend's actions" she said, as he rolled over, ending up near where Ichigo had dropped his substitute badge

Layne was thankful that impacting with the wall didn't break any bones, far too much of that had gone on recently

"Well, I tried" he muttered "Plan B, I suppose"

Layne picked up Ichigo discarded Shinigami badge and pushed himself out of his body with it

"What's your name? Layne asked

"Does it matter?"

"Yeah, calling you Sailor Girl in my head only works for so long"

She smiled at that

"Lisa, Lisa Yadomaru"

Out of the corner of his eye, Layne saw the small girl in the red jumpsuit mutter something and then walk towards Shinji

"So do it then" Lisa said "Call out the hollow"

Layne was surprised

"But, I don't know how to control it yet"

"It doesn't matter, if we are going to train you, we need to know what we're dealing with, if it isn't worth our time…then we'll leave you in the gutter, and you can become a hollow

"If it's only for me, then I'd rather do this without letting that thing take another shot"

Lisa shook her head in frustration and opened her mouth to explain that Layne had no choice in this matter

A monstrous wave of reiatsu overtook the both of them, and they quickly turned Ichigo's direction, who had grabbed the girl in the red jumpsuit by the throat and pushed her into a pillar

Instantly Layne knew something was wrong, and flashstepped over to Ichigo, Lisa on his tail

Layne appeared flying, tackling Ichigo away from the girl, who let out a grateful breath and slumped against the pillar, breathing heavily

Ichigo hissed at Layne, furious that its killing had been interrupted

"If you're in there Ichigo…I'm sorry if I have to beat the living shit out of you while I beat the living shit out of this thing" Layne said, readying Oblivion and Oathkeeper

The Vizards all moved to subdue Ichigo, but Lisa held her hand out in front of them, stopping them

"Wait just a second...let's see how powerful his is as well"

"_If it's to help Ichigo" _Layne thought quickly, as Ichigo reached for his neck "_Well… I don't think I mind becoming a monster then"_

Layne relaxed his tight mental hold on himself, and instantly his focus distorted, his eyes blackened and the irises changed colour

"_**Fucking finally!**_"The hollow inside screamed "**This kingdom is mine!**"

On the outside, Ichigo watched as Layne apparently did nothing, and decided that enough was enough, and made the first move

Instantly Ichigo was in front of Layne, throwing a flurry of punches at Layne

Layne seemed to sway, and all the punches missed, eliciting a frustrated snarl from Ichigo as he span around and aimed a kick at Layne's head

Layne blocked with his right hand, clenched into a fist and knocked Ichigo back, who had to roll several times to regain his footing

Layne looked up and the Vizards got a look at his transformation

Unlike Ichigo, his masked visage covered a full three quarters of his face, the entire right half, and from the bottom of his chin to the tip of his nose on the left side

The mask itself was another point of difference, whereas Ichigo's seemed shaped to his face, Layne's looked more like a welder's mask, boxy and square around the eye sockets with goggles, fitted to his eyes

Also unlike Ichigo, the pattern was a deep green, the colour of Rain and consisted of three horizontal stripes across the forehead

Their reiatsu's were draining each other out, and the big Vizard quickly made multiple motions with his fingers, hastily reinforcing the reiatsu barriers which barricaded the Vizards from the outside world

Layne and Ichigo faced each other off, the hollow's pulling their strings each recognizing an equivalence in strength

But it didn't stop Ichigo from screeching a challenge and rushing at Layne, who merely met his opening punch with the same punch, and neither's fist moved a millimeter

Layne followed up by headbutting, and normally it would of meant nothing, since Ichigo would of headbutted back and they would have been deadlocked, but unfortuanately, beaten up by both Shinji and the red jumpsuit girl, his body wasn't in prince condition, and the sheer force behind Layne's headbutt cracked the mask over Ichigo's face, forcing the hollow out of control

Sensing victory, Layne lifted Ichigo by the collar with his left hand, and pointed his right hand, which had morphed into a hollow claw, each finger as sharp as a knife, at Ichigo's throat

But before he could bring it down, Afro and Combat boots tackled him, and all the Vizards had their swords holding him down, Lisa cracked the mask over his face, returning Layne into control

"Well done" Shinji said, "You two pass…we'll pound the core of hollow suppression, into your very souls"

* * *

**a/n - Finito, another few thousand words for your enjoyment XD**

**bit of shameless endorsement, y'all should go check out Wulf's latest story**

**not ashamed to admit that i get a bit too excited when i read it D=**

**Oh, or you could review here...maybe do both, yeah that works**


	36. Chapter 35: Distortion

**A/N - i'm alive!111**

**Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated, but not by much in some of these past days**

**The heat needs to gtfo and go die, before i sweat my entire bodies watercontent out and become some dry sack of human matter... unpleasant thought yeah?**

**anyway, here's a chapter**

* * *

Layne punched the ground, releasing some of his frustration and busting a knuckle in the process

Cursing softly and cradling his busted hollowfied hand, which was already beginning to mend the broken bone, he resumed watching Ichigo pedal on that damned walker, which he'd been pedalling for about four days now, since Shinji had set him to it

He settled back and placed his head back in his hands staring at the broken ceiling

Unfortunately for Layne, his four days had been spent in boredom, doing jack all, initially Layne had blessed his good fortune that he was avoiding unnecessary physical exertion, but now, he'd rather do anything except sit around doing shit all.

He wasn't sure why they weren't making him do anything, although it may have had something to do with the fact that Lisa was the only one among them that seemed to acknowledge his existence at all

He'd learned who the other six Vizards names as well, discounting Lisa and Shinji, The Blond Girl that kicked the crap out of Ichigo originally was Hiyori, and she had a bad attitude to everyone in general, Afro was Love, Blondie was Rose, Combat Boots was Kensei, The green haired girl was Mashiro, and the large, pink haired guy preferred to be known as Hachi

Ichigo, on the other hand, had been pedalling on this damned walker for the past four days, and didn't feel a bit different to when he stepped on the thing four days ago, that and the fact that everyone else in the warehouse seemed to be lazing around

"Man, lunch is late" Shinji complained, not even bothering to look from the ground, with his head rested on his hand "Hiyori, go put on the kettle or something"

"You bald jerk" she replied dismissively "Why do I have to be the one to make something? I wouldn't give you anything even if I could be bothered"

"Love?" Rose asked "Have you listened to the new Prince of Darkness CD that just came out?"

Love was currently in a fit of tears

"More importantly Rose" he choked, in between his laughter "Have you read this week's Jump?"

"No" Rose replied curtly, "You never let me"

"It's so cool" Love continued, still laughing his head off

"Lisa, you're on duty today right?" Kensei asked, rewrapping the bandages he kept on his fists most of the time "Make sure you're taking care of those Shinigami punks"

"I am keeping an eye on them, so piss off" she replied irritably, her face buried deep in a book

"The only thing you're keeping an eye on is that porno magazine"

"_Man I could really go for some porn right now" _Layne thought wistfully "_Too bad Urahara didn't bring the shed where i kept my stash hidden from Moll through that portal with the rest of my house"_

"Shut up, Piss off and leave me be" Lisa said, snapping a glance at him quickly, and then back to the book "I just have to help him keep count anyway, so here I go"

With the combination of the walker, Lisa counting his steps, Love's laughter, Rose twanging on his guitar, and Shinji and Hiyori bickering, Ichigo was done

Layne sat up after the walker went flying over his head and Ichigo yelled

"I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!"

The walker would have hit Hiyori, who Ichigo had aimed at in his rage, but she grabbed the back of Shinji's shirt and dragged him across into the walker's path

"Rough" muttered Layne

"What the hell are you doing?" Hiyori yelled at Ichigo, dropped Shinji's shirt so he fell to the ground "Do another thing like that and I'll break your balls, baldy!"

"That's..my line" Shinji groaned, slightly muffled from his face being in contact with the floor

"No, that's my line dammit!" Ichigo yelled back at Hiyori "What's with making spend more than a day on this homemade piece of shit exercise machine, even though you said all that cool shit about suppressing my hollow"

Layne got up and stretched, how come Ichigo got to freak out first?

"Is it because you're all stupid? Or is it because I'm and idiot for going along with what you guys say?" Ichigo continued to shout

"That's right! You're an idiot, you're the one and only idiot here, and you're bald!" Hiyori screeched back "We've been trying to train you and you've done nothing but whinge and bitch about it!"

"I'm hoome~" Mashiro called quietly, as she entered the warehouse with Hachi, bearing plastic bags with food in them

"Enough with the baldy shit fang-face, just where is the training in this!"

"When I say baldy, I'm not talking about the hairs on your head, im talking about the hairs on your balls!"

"I brought lunch" Mashiro said cheerfully, and everyone except Shinji, Ichigo and Hiyori ran over to Mashiro and mobbed her for the food

"What's up with Berry-tan? He's making a real fuss" she asked after everyone was eating

"Well…" Love said, swallowing his mouthful of rice

"He doesn't like the 'Super Hiyori Walker'" Layne said sarcastically, tossing another piece of meat into his mouth

"It took him that long?"

"Personally, I don't think she explained the Super Hiyori walker very well" Hachi said curtly

"I feel the same way" Kensei agreed "She only ever says one or two words about it"

"Enough already" Hiyori muttered, lifting the discarded walker and flinging it "Quit your bitching and walk until you pass out!"

The walker hit Ichigo on the base of the chin and bounced off

"You bitch!" Ichigo growled

"Hold your horses Ichigo" Shinji said, having recovered from his earlier tango with a flying walker "That shit Hiyori walker is the basis of all future training, we base your level on how long you can keep pedalling on it, I hate to agree with Hiyori, but it's like she said, quit pissing around and pedal on the damn thing until you pass out, we'll teach you, when you can go for three more straight days"

"Oh give me a break!" Ichigo replied, his voice still raised, "It's obvious that I can do it for three more days, I could do it for another week!"

"I could tell after just one day, that it sucks up a lot of reiatsu" Ichigo continued "If your goal is to measure how much reiatsu I have, then there's no point because I could pedal that thing for a more than seven days, Teach me! Teach Me how to control the hollow, I don't have time to play around with you Vizards!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Shinji exploded

Judging from the looks of shock on all the other Vizards faces, Layne assumed that Shinji didn't explode very often

"Don't have time…" Shinji said "That's rich coming from someone who has no idea how long the Hogyoku takes to awaken"

Ichigo was silent

"Hold up a second…what did you just say"

"I said you know nothing about the Hogyoku, Arrancar, Hollowfication, or Aizen Sosuke and his betrayal" Shinji said, glancing at Layne, then back at Ichigo "So you should quit bitching"

"_Now why would he look at me when he mentions betrayal?" _Layne wondered

"How do you know about the hogyoku and all the other stuff" Ichigo muttered

"I've known for many years now" Shinji said, appearing directly in front of Ichigo and holding a hand over his face

"The whole story will have to wait, I was thinking it would be good if we gave you time to get used to our methods…but now that I think about it, you…both of you have obtained Shinigami Powers and Bankai, with incredible speed, so hurrying up and teaching you… might suit your styles more"

"What…" Ichigo said, trying to back away from Shinji's outstretched hand

"Here we go Ichigo… don't waste it"

Ichigo crumpled to the floor

"What the hell?" Layne exclaimed, standing up in shock "What did you do to him?"

"Don't worry" Shinji said "I haven't forgotten about you"

Love picked up Ichigo, slinging him over his shoulder, and Shinji closed Ichigo's eyelids

"Hachi, create a double dislocation barrier"

"Yes, Sir" Hachi said, waving his arms in a series of complicated motions

Mashiro sniffed the air

"What's that hollow smell?"

"I don't know" Kensei said sarcastically "It couldn't be one of us could it"

"It doesn't smell like any of our hollows though" Mashiro complained, stamping her feet and sticking her tongue out at Kensei

Seeing Kensei about ready to stab Mashiro, Layne raised his hand in acceptance

"Guilty, you knocked out the source of reiatsu I've always hidden behind"

"Doesn't matter" Shinji said curtly, kicking the ground, so a massive cinderblock of floor lifted into the air, revealing a staircase beneath it

"_What is it with everyone and secret rooms?"_ Layne wondered, thinking of Urahara's basement

All of the Vizards walked down the staircase, and beckoned Layne to follow him

Shinji was muttering, and Layne had to strain his ears to hear what he was saying

"Can you hear me Ichigo? You're going to turn into a full hollow soon, don't get devoured by him, consume him, if you get destroyed, then it's all over"

* * *

"What the hell?" Ichigo muttered as he stood up and looked around, instantly recognizing where he was

The Sideways Skyscrapers of his inner world

Ichigo half expected Old Man Zangetsu to pop out of nowhere, balanced on that pole he seemed to spring from everywhere

Instead, crouched over away from Ichigo, was the Hollow

"Sup" The Hollow drawled "It's been a while…your majesty"

* * *

Love placed Ichigo face down on the ground, in the huge underground cavern

"Hacchi" Shinji said curtly "Put another barrier here"

"Ehhhh?" Hachi said, trying to sound surprised

"Don't give me that ehhhh shit" Shinji replied "There's absolutely nothing cute about an old man saying ehhhh"

Shinji took a breath while Hachi made the barrier, and then continued

"And bind Ichigo's arms and legs"

"Understood" Hachi replied, jamming his hands together, which created a small flash of light

"Walls of iron sand, a priestly pagoda, glowing ironclad fireflies. Standing upright, silent to the end". Hachi intoned, causeing the light to split into four little bubbles,( which Layne swore blind looked like sperm)

"Bakudo 75, Gochu Tekkan"

The little bubbles of light sperm transformed into 5 very tall, and very heavy looking pillars which landed on Ichigo's arms, legs, and the top his spine

"_Hahaha, Light sperm… I like that" _Layne thought, making a mental note to use it somewhere In the future

* * *

"What's wrong?" Hollow Ichigo taunted "You look awfully depressed"

Ichigo glanced left and right with his eyes

"Where is Old Man Zangetsu?"

Hollow Ichigo leered at Ichigo, which just pissed him off

"Bastard" Ichigo growled, unsheathing Zangetsu from his back

"I don't get it" Hollow Ichigo said pointing at Ichigo "When you say Zangetsu, do you mean the one you have…or the one I'm holding?"

He unsheathed his sword, an exact mirror of Zangetsu, except with the colours reversed, echoing the difference between Ichigo and Hollow Ichigo

"_A white Zangetsu?" _Ichigo thought in shock

"You asked me where Zangetsu is?" Hollow Ichigo said, appearing without warning, directly above Ichigo "I'll tell you, I am Zangetsu!"

Ichigo barely brought up Zangetsu in time to block W. Zangetsu

* * *

A massive reiatsu hit everyone in the basement at the same time

Layne stared in shock, as Ichigo's hands began to curl, ripping at the dirt they were pressed against

"It's here" muttered Shinji

"Hey, shouldn't we take away his zanpakuto?" Mashiro asked, a trace of worry colouring his voice

"No point" Love told her calmly "Would just increase the radius of destruction needlessly"

They were all sitting around the barrier Hachi had erected, waiting for some signs of life, and it was here, and Layne sure as hell was not prepared

"_Illidan was fucking right, but not about Black Temple" _Layne thought wryly

Ichigo held his head up, half covered in his hollow mask, and pushed himself up, breaking Hachi's bakudo with ease

Lisa stood up and began walking to the barrier wall

"Sit down Lisa" Shinji said, pointing at Layne "You're first"

"First for what?" Layne asked in confusion

"Survive ten minutes in there against Ichigo, and we'll suppress your hollow as well, if you fail..well then it saves us disposing of ya when you turn full hollow yourself"

"Shinji!" Lisa said, outraged "Are you crazy?"

"Maybe, but you know I'm right Lisa"

Layne had no earthly idea why Lisa was defending him, and although he was grateful, he didn't think Shinji would ever take him seriously unless he did this

"If that's what it takes"

Layne got up and unsheathed both of his zanpakuto, and walked towards the wall

"Open it up then, Hachi"

A part of the yellow wall in front of Layne shimmered and vanished, reappearing behind him

"Drift, Roxas" he muttered, tossing his zanpakuto to the side and having Oathkeeper and Oblivion appear in their place

Ichigo eyed him for a split second before grabbing Zangetsu and leaping forwards

Layne felt the murderous intent in the reiatsu that the hollow was radiating so carelessly and despite himself, sweated a little, readying his zanpakuto for one hell of a fight

"Don't worry Ichigo…I'll still be around to stop Aizen with you…so I can't let you kill me here"

* * *

Ichigo and Hollow Ichigo traded a few more blows and then leapt apart

"Bastard, what did you do with Zangetsu?" Ichigo shouted

"Don't make me say it again!" Hollow Ichigo shouted back, resuming his assault "I am Zangetsu!"

As Hollow Ichigo said Zangetsu, he swung his sword in a powerful arc which Ichigo managed to block, but sent him flying to the side

"I'm not sure if you were aware of this" Hollow Ichigo said, bursting into a monologue as Ichigo picked himself up "But Zangetsu and I were originally one being, both he and I being the source of your power, and I was a part of him. Although we share one physical body, if the master and servant change places, then the form changes as well, When life rules the body, the body is wrapped in flesh, when death rules, the body becomes bone, the same logic applies. My power grew, and Zangetsu became a part of me, so the more you try to draw out Zangetsu's power, the easier it gets for me to take over your soul"

"Oh yeah?" Ichigo growled "Well I guess if I defeat you here, then Old man Zangetsu will take over once again"

Hollow Ichigo snorted "You, beat me? Ain't gonna happen"

In one fluid motion Ichigo stood up and took his Bankai stance

"Say that, after you see this"

Hollow Ichigo cocked an eyebrow

"You just, don't get it do you, I told you it ain't going to happen"

Hollow Ichigo mirrored Ichigo's stance, and Ichigo hesitated, then clenched his teeth

"BANKAI!" Both Ichigo's shouted in unison

* * *

Layne deflected another of Ichigo's blows and followed through with a solid punch directly to his face cracking Ichigo's half mask slightly, having been forced to drop Oblivion earlier

Ichigo did nothing, and from the increase in reiatsu, Layne could tell something was up

Rather than get cocky, or wait to see what happened, he took the chance to pick up Oblivion and waited for the worst

Outside, Shinji smiled unemotionally

"Now the real fun begins"

A hole appeared in Ichigo's chest and he began moving again

Layne's right hand pulsed uncomfortably, and he glanced at it just in time to see Ichigo approaching from behind

"Shit!" he exclaimed, rolling to the side, narrowly avoiding being decapitated

Ichigo was relentless however, and suddenly Layne was staring at the point of a sword that was…moving in slow motion?

Layne moved his head to the side at normal speed, and for good measure, charged a Rain which sent Ichigo flying

When he got up, he was moving at normal speed again, and he looked pissed, insofar as you can looked pissed off when your face is a grinning visage which isn't supposed to move at all

He lunged at Layne again, but Lisa appeared in front of him, and intercepted him

"Time's up" she said curtly "Get going"

* * *

**a/n - hope that was a good read, sorry for making you wait for so long, i broke my fingers doing something stupid and couldn't write for a bit, and then i forgot to after my fingers mended... yeah GG v1r1d1an, jackass**

**Obligatory R&R Goes Here**

**It's amazing how much gaming you can do with broken fingers though, especially when it doesn't affect your clicking fingers XD**

**So i finished Mass Effect 2, great game btw, so pumped for Mass Effect 3 next year**

**and im playing in a League of Legends Australian Tourney next week, i'm nothing special but it'd be cool to go past first round XD**

**anyway, catchyas next one, i'll be writing in between matches**


	37. Chapter 36: Make or Break

**a/n - So i'm like 3 hours late on my 5 day promise that i dropped in the filler story**

**For those that missed it, i'm writing a filler arc called BTP: Fall Back in Line, a seperate story cause i couldn't integrate it into this, head to my profile and check it out, i'm exploring a few ideas that i rejected from integrating into this, and i'm interested in all your feedback ;D**

**Just head to my profile if your interested and click the link for it, i can't guarantee you'll be excited, but i think its damned cool**

* * *

Ichigo pushed hard against Lisa, trying his best to get to Layne

"Get out of here, you passed" Lisa said, not giving an inch to Ichigo

"I can still fight" Layne protested

Lisa pushed Ichigo away and turned to stare at Layne

"Back. The. Fuck. Up."

Layne backed the fuck up

Behind him, the wall opened and Shinji reached out and grabbed him, pulling him through the barrier so Hachi could shut it

"Good, now sit down and we'll get to you later"

Layne wondered just what the problem with him us, cause sometimes, he thought that they wouldn't mind if Layne just turned into a hollow, as long as it wasn't on their watch

* * *

The energy released from the combined Bankai releases of Ichigo and his hollow shattered the building they'd been standing on the side of

Faster than anyone could catch, they clashed, holding their Tensa Zangetsu against each other in a stark contrast of black on white

"You bastard" Ichigo growled "When did you learn Bankai"

"Isn't it obvious?" The hollow replied, "Same time you did"

Ichigo and the Hollow blew apart but then Ichigo flashstepped back in, forcing the Hollow to block

"Ichigo!" The hollow shouted "Get the chip off your shoulder! Let's enjoy this!"

"Screw you"

Ichigo pushed The Hollow with such force that he flew backwards, blowing a hole through one of the blue-gray skyscrapers that made up Ichigo's inner world

Pressing his advantage, Ichigo held Tensa Zangetsu beside him, black and red energy beginning to radiate from it

"Getsuga Tensho!" he cried, flinging the wave at the Hollow

The Hollow stood up in the rubble and eyed the oncoming wave with contempt, chopping it with a single arm motion

"_One handed!" _Ichigo thought with alarm, not expecting the block, or the ease with which the Hollow had executed it

The Hollow grinned wildly and then appeared before Ichigo, pressing against his sword

"Getsuga Tensho"

An explosion of white reiatsu overtook them both

* * *

Lisa kicked Ichigo away and flipped backwards, avoiding Ichigo's return cut

Layne was interested to note that Lisa looked almost as beaten up as him

Kensei finished looking at his watch and tossed it to Layne

"That's time for a shift change, open up" He told Hachi

"Understood" Hachi said, making a door appear in the wall, which Kensei then went through

Layne watched as Kensei elbowed Ichigo in the gut, and sent him flying away, sending Lisa out of the barrier at the same time

She walked out, sat down next to Layne and watched Kensei spin his little zanpakuto around and proceed to kick the snot out of Ichigo

"_Hurry it up Ichigo" _Shinji thought "_If you don't finish it soon, then we'll have no choice but to put you down"_

* * *

"I already told you" The hollow said disdainfully "You ain't shit, Ichigo, your worse than shit"

Ichigo was breathing heavily, that point blank Getsuga had torn off the front of his Shihakusho and ripped up his stomach

"Did you forget?" The first person to use Getsuga in Bankai was me, and that's all you can aspire too, A child that watches my technique and attempts it at home"

The hollow flashstepped towards and Ichigo and grabbed the blade of Tensa Zangetsu

Ichigo tried to grab it out of his grasp, but it wouldn't move

"Give it up Ichigo"

The black of the blade began turning white and Ichigo's eyes widened in surprise

"You can't use Bankai"

The blade shattered as the hollow said Bankai, shattered and disappeared

* * *

Lisa was still breathing heavily

"You ok?" Layne asked, concerned

She nodded, and turned to Shinji

"How much break time do we get?"

"Nine people times ten minutes, is ninety minutes"

"Idiot, you can't count Layne again" Lisa said

"Baldy" Hiyori added, "If you don't count her, its only seven people"

"Fine, seven people times ten minutes, is seventy minutes"

"Umm, I'm holding up the barrier and I'm included in the rotation?" Hachi said meekly

Kensei stabbed his knife into Ichigo's shoulder and brought it out, causing blood to spurt into the air

The blood stopped spurting and his shoulder regenerated

"_High Speed Regeneration?" _Kensei wondered, bringing his fists together, a light blue ball of reiatsu condensing around them

"Whoa, whoa" Love said

Kensei shot the ball forward, it becoming a large explosion, which ripped Ichigo's arm off and knocked him to the ground

"Holy shit" muttered Layne

Kensei approached Ichigo's prone form, and some gigantic hollow worm thing exploded from the arm socket and tried to swallow Kensei

"What the hell?" Kensei exclaimed, firing another reiatsu burst down its throat, causing it to explode

Behind it, Ichigo had gotten up, his arm regrown into a fully hollow arm

"Well, your hollowfication was faster than I expected" Kensei said

* * *

"Zangetsu is…" Ichigo said, shocked, watching the fragments of Zangetsu fade away

"That isn't Zangetsu" The Hollow repeated "I am Zangetsu"

"You son of a bitch" Ichigo growled

The Hollow sneered, and grabbed Ichigo's face, tossing him down into a building

"Same old stupid shit, spacing out and standing there unarmed"

The hollow landed on the building as Ichigo picked himself up

"Ichigo, what's the difference between a King and his Horse?"

"What?"

"I don't mean some bullshit riddle like, one has two legs and the other has four, if you assume that they are exactly the same being, then form, abilities and shape are exactly the same, if one is the king, then the other is the horse, lending the king his power as well, but I'm asking what makes them different"

Ichigo said nothing

"INSTINCT!" The hollow shouted "Powerful people acquire more power until they are taken down by someone of greater power, the only thing needed to become king, is the desire, the will, the lust for battle!"

"These things known as raw instinct Ichigo… you don't have any of it, you fight rationally and try to defeat your enemies with logic and reason, and that makes you weaker than me, and you know what?"

The Hollow tossed its white Tensa Zangetsu and impaled Ichigo through the chest, who looked down at it in shock

"I won't have it, Ichigo" The hollow said, smirking and walking towards Ichigo "Zangetsu can, but I won't deal with a King that's weaker than I am, trying to use my power to cover up for his weakness"

The hollow grasped the hilt of his White Tensa Zangetsu and kept speaking

"If you're weaker than I am… I'll crush you and become the king"

"_Instinct huh, Sword, Fight, Death, Sword, Chad, Layne, Sword, Orihime, Ishida, Fight, Rukia, Renji, Death, Seek Battle, Instinct!"_

Ichigo reached out and grasped the sword sticking out of his gut, the blade turning black at a rapid rate, from where he held the sword

The black shot up so rapidly, and turned part of the hollow's sleeve the same colour as Ichigo's Shihakusho before the hollow let go

Ichigo looked up, his eyes glowing light blue with a combination of resolve and reiatsu

Pulling a now black Tensa Zangetsu from his chest, he twirled it around and charged forwards, thrusting clean through the Hollow's body

"Dammit" The hollow muttered "Guess you still had some of that will to fight in you"

The entirety of the hollow's shihakusho was changing colour to match Ichigo's and Ichigo stared serenely as he started the hollow started vanishing

"Try to stay alive until I appear next time"

* * *

Ichigo, if you could call it that anymore, was charging up a Cero, aimed directly at Love

Love took an odd pose, with his hand over his face and Layne wondered what he was going to do

"Oi" Mashiro said, worried "Is Love really going to turn into a hollow?"

"Even if it's Love" Rose answered "He couldn't take that blast without having to use his hollowfication

Before Love had to hollowify, however, a crack appeared in Ichigo's hollow armour and he stopped charging the Cero and stopped moving

"This is it!" Hiyori yelled "Get Love out of the barrier!"

Love slid out just in time for Hachi to close the barrier and absorb the resulting explosion

"_Holy shit, was there a nuke in there or something?"_

When the smoke cleared, after like 5 minutes, the hollow shell fell of Ichigo, and he was left standing there, still wearing a mask

"Hachi" Shinji said

"Yes" Hachi replied, snapping his fingers, and causing the barrier to shatter like a glass window that just got smashed through by a truck

Ichigo crumpled to the ground, the mask sliding off his face, but unlike the previous parts of hollow, it just bounced on the ground and landed next to his head, instead of shattering and disappearing

The mask itself was quite odd, Layne noted, it looked like a demonic visage, with six red stripes covering its right side

Shinji stood over Ichigo

"How you feeling?" He asked lightly, unsure if Ichigo was even conscious

Slowly, Ichigo turned his head till he could look at Shinji

"Well…not too bad, actually"

"Oh Really" Shinji said, grinning

* * *

A few hours later, Layne was sitting by himself and reviewing today's events in his head

"_I was trying my hardest just to survive in that fight" _Layne realized, vividly recalling the earlier ten minutes he spent going at it with the hollow controlling Ichigo, and then watching Lisa trade sword blows, Kensei blowing it up with his shikai and Mashiro kicking it's face "_And they all looked like they were just sparring, like this was just training for them"_

Some of Layne's thoughts must have shown themselves on his face, because Lisa came up and sat down next to him

"You okay?" she asked kindly

"I guess" Layne replied "I did say to myself that if it was to help Ichigo, then I didn't mind becoming a monster… but getting my ass handed to me earlier, sort of made it hit home, even if I control the hollow inside of me, will I be able to stand on his level?"

Lisa said nothing, and Layne stood up and looked out across the rocky plain under the warehouse, wondering just how far did this place extended

"I mean, barely nine months ago I didn't think spirits existed… and now, I'm so far from home, with a shadow eating at my soul, and if I don't beat it, then I'm shadowing alone"

"You're pretty strong, you and Ichigo, most people would of given up if they'd had a quarter of the crap shovelled on them that you two have"

"That's just it, we've gotten through all that earlier crap, and it's still piling onto us, I don't blame Urahara for bringing me through his portal or whatever it was, not after I learned that my brother somehow got turned into a Shinigami and was killing people, but I don't know if I can be the warrior I'm supposed to be ,and Ichigo's still in a worse situation, he had no choice and he's taking it a hell of a lot better than me… part of this is all because I agreed to it, but I had no idea just what kind of trouble's it'd bring me"

"That's to be expected" Lisa said, sounding surprised "You're what, Seventeen?"

"Yeah"

"It's not like you've gone through Shinigami Academy, been trained to be a guardian, or a soldier, but you've survived, and surpassed threats that killed lots of people who have, people that by all rights, should of killed you, and that says something about your skills and determination"

Layne was silent, and Lisa stood up and jabbed her hand in his face

"What the…?"

"Anyway…it's your turn"

* * *

Lisa brought the unconscious Layne to the rest of the Vizards, and placed him on the ground

"Well?" she asked, when none of them moved after she'd laid him down

"I don't think we should do this" Kensei said "He may have the same strengths, but we have no clue as to his loyalties"

"His loyalties?"

Lisa couldn't believe it

"We're not entirely convinced that he's not a sleeper tool of Aizen's, in their meeting Aizen did call him his second generation pseudo arrancar, and also said that it would be remiss of him to not monitor one of his creations" Shinji said calmly "If we end up aiding one of Aizen's tools in becoming more powerful, it's counterproductive"

"He'll be more valuable to Aizen as a Hollow" Lisa insisted "If he's mindless, how's he supposed to fight it when Aizen puts him through Shinigamification and turns him into an Arrancar"

Shinji was silent

"You know I'm right" Lisa said "He passed your damn test, which would of killed him had he not performed that bit of magic with his speed, and if he's loyal to anything, he's loyal to Ichigo, and he's powerful enough to be a major player in this upcoming war…we need him Shinji, we need all the allies we can get"

"I agree with Lisa" Hachi said quietly "Willingly condemning someone to wander as a hollow isn't a punishment I'd visit on my worst enemy, let alone a potential ally"

Love, Rose and Mashiro nodded

"I like Roady-tan, Kensei's just being a dummy"

"You're just not thinking about potential consequences"

"Dummy meanie Kensei, Dummy meanie Kensei"

"I'll kill you!" Kensei growled, a vein throbbing dangerously in his temple

Mashiro danced out of his reach, and he continued chasing her for a bit until a pulse of reiatsu set in over them

"Hachi, Barrier!" Shinji shouted, and Hachi moved the fastest he'd ever moved in his life, erecting a barrier faster than it took Lisa to realize that she didn't need to move or get caught in it

"So we're doing this" Lisa asked,

"Yeah, same order as last time" Shinji said "I don't understand what sorta interest you got in this kid Lisa, but you'd better be right about him"

* * *

"You know, in hindsight, I should have realized that it was you a lot longer ago than I did" Layne said humourlessly, staring at the carbon copy of himself on the edge of his inner world lake

"Been a while Layne"

"It has…Diff"

"What's Diff?"

"You look like me put through a difference filter, hence Diff"

Diff shook his head

"Where's Roxas anyway?"

"Right there" Diff said, pointing at Oblivion and Oathkeeper, ready to go in Layne's hands "And right here!"

Diff summoned his weapons to him, a Black Oathkeeper that Layne had seen before, and a White Oblivion

"So you take my weapons, and switch their colour schemes around, real original"

"Your weapons?" Diff asked "What makes you say you're even using them properly at all?"

"Low Skill Floor, High Skill Ceiling" Layne replied "But your just a shadow of my soul, so I'll prove it to you that I'm using them correctly"

Layne charged forwards, pressing Oathkeeper and Oblivion together

"Riptide Sword Style: River! And Tempest!"

The reiatsu surrounding Layne's blade became visible and jagged, seeming cutting they air it was passed through

Diff sneered

"You got nothing"

He blocked River with the Black Oathkeeper and used the white Oblivion to send Layne flying

"Oblivion was formed purely from my powers, and Oathkeeper from yours… you can't use Oblivion, not for a million years"

"Bankai!" Layne shouted "Roxas Final Form!"

"Bit premature isn't it, to blow Bankai this early in a fight, isn't there some epic lines you wanted to drop, or you could have waited for me to drop some epic lines"

"Fuck that" Layne replied "Riptide Sword Style: Split River"

Layne broke River down into Oblivion and Oathkeeper and resumed his charge

Layne and Diff became locked in a speed fight, trading blow for blow, parry for parry and dodge for dodge, neither one of them giving an inch

"Pretty fast Layne, but I'll go faster"

"I'm not even moving at top speed"

They accelerated, and eventually, anyone watching the fight would only see flashes of light as their blades clashed, and little spurts of blood as they nicked one another

Diff pulled back, seemingly overwhelmed by Layne's mastery of the close range flurry

"You got nothing" Diff repeated

"Flurry is my Forte" Layne replied, going in for another attempt

The hollow mark on the back of Diff's right hand flashed, and suddenly Diff became too fast, raining blow, after blow, after blow on Layne, who couldn't seem to move fast enough to counter them at all

Diff kicked Layne away and he sprawled on the ground, barely managing to sit up

"See the difference between us yet Layne?

Layne was bleeding from several bazillion cuts all over his body, but he could still move

"Are you going to give me some weird ass speech about a king and his horse?"

"You know it?" Diff asked, sounding disappointed "I was going to, but if you know it, I'll have to think of something different, how about…"

Diff tossed his white Oblivion away and held his arm out

Layne's Black Oblivion disappeared from his tight grasp and reappeared in Diff's hand

"How about you can't use Oblivion, and I'll just leave it at that?"

* * *

**a/n - Getting good for this, nearly finished the arrancar arc, but it was always going to be smaller than SS and Kira arcs simply cause i've gotta divide it into the Hueco Mundo arc as well XD**

**IRL news, my team won our way thru the first round of the League of Legends tourney, playing in our second round tomorrow, wish meh luck ;D**

**but seriously, i don't mind if we get crushed, i only cared about getting through one round XD**

**Next Chapter for this soonish, next chapter for BTP:Fall Back in Line will be sooner, 1k word chapters of my own design somehow became easy to produce O.o**

**anyway, catchyas and R&R ;D**


	38. Chapter 37: Surge :Urgent Remix:

**a/n - Dirty dirty editing not saving... apologies**

* * *

Layne glanced at his empty white hand, at Diff holding Oblivion, and back at his empty white hand, now clenching into a fist

"You son of a bitch, who are you to tell me what I can and can't use" Layne growled, switching both hands to Oathkeeper's grip, trying the stance Moll used all the time

"I dunno, maybe…the source of Oblivion's power?" Diff replied, tossing away his black Oathkeeper and switching Layne's black Oblivion to his left hand and grinning

"You don't even know what my powers are, you're so damned focused on Roxas and being some kind of freakin Rainbringer, that you can't even be bothered to work out what your other keyblade does"

"You can't take a life with water" Layne countered "I don't even know what Oblivion does, but it's evil"

"Is that what this is about, you still haven't sorted out that thing about killing Kira, it didn't seem to bother you when I was in control and trying my hardest to kill her for you"

Layne said nothing

"Evil is in the eye of the beholder" Diff continued "You're narrow-minded if you think otherwise, Water can't be good, and it can't be evil… and Oblivion is the same, it can't be good… and it can't be evil"

"You're just a shadow on my soul; you're not even alive… not really, you can't make philosophical distinctions because you're morally aligned one way"

"But you don't know which way I am aligned, and that makes you biased, to your Moral Justice bullshit, false chains of honour that you keep on yourself, restricting your ability to fight"

"My honor ensures that I don't become like you, that I remain me, no matter what happens to me"

"Hidebound, stuck in your ways, Change is the only answer, if you don't change, you lose, and die… and that's exactly what's going to happen to you, I can't be bothered to explain anymore"

Diff charged at Layne, who took the double keyblades head on with Oathkeeper

"Bet your Rain feels inadequate when faced up to the ultimate powers of destruction"

"Hell no!" Layne grunted, pushing Diff backwards with some effort

"My will is unbroken, Diff" Layne remarked "While I still got that, I don't need Oblivion"

Diff began cackling "Don't need Oblivion? Don't need me? Are you trolling?"

"I'm dead serious"

"Well, then…how about I take away your seriousness, and just make you dead"

Diff seemed to teleport behind Layne, and knocked Oathkeeper out of his hands, and pushed him to the ground

"Sorry Layne, but if you aren't willing to win at whatever price you need to pay personally, then how can you possibly expect to become the monster that you need to be to defeat the Arrancar?, to defeat me?"

Layne spat out some dirt in his mouth and rolled over

"If you can't even answer that, then just drown"

Diff kicked Layne so hard he flew into the center of the lake, a resounding splash occurring from the point of impact

* * *

"Well this is a hell of a way to go" Layne thought, as he floated down through his pool of reiatsu, unable to summon the strength to kick his limbs

* * *

"And I thought Ichigo was ugly" Shinji commented, eyeing the monstrosity that Layne had become, that Rose was currently going toe to toe with

The armor that had appeared when Layne had started losing limbs was white, and by now completely encased his body, turning him into a grotesque caricature of himself, the features unfinished and rounded in some places, and impossibly sharp in others, like a withered pillar of stone in the middle of restoration.

Layne had forgone the use of his zanpakuto and was simply trying to claw Rose's face off, and darn near succeeding too, Shinji noticed, realizing that ten minutes were nearly up

"Open up the barrier Hachi" Shinji said, tapping on it with the hilt of his zanpakuto "Last ten minutes are mine"

* * *

"Wake up Layne"

Layne rolled over and vomited out a copious amount of water, drenching the ground under him

"Fucking. Hate. Vomiting" he coughed and sputtered, clearing the last of the water from his lungs

"_What in the world is this place?" _he wondered, sitting up and glancing around at the featureless white walls of the round room, with a corner pressed into it

"_Oh great, a bloody round room with a corner, that's my freaking afterlife is it"_

"Why Layne?"

Layne stood up

"Who's there?" he asked cautiously, slowly turning his head around "Where are you?"

Light flashed in front of his eyes, and suddenly Layne stood atop the Sokyoku Hill, surrounded by Rukia, Moll and Joel who stared blankly at him

"Rukia, Moll, Joel!" Layne exclaimed in surprise "What are you guys doing here?"

"Why did you help save me?" Rukia asked emotionlessly

"What? Why did I help save you? Because you were going to die, and you needed my help?"

"You'd do better to tell the truth" Rukia said "Why did you help save me, a complete stranger to you, at the cost of everything you used to know, and hold dear?"

"Oh, I see how it is, you're not the real Rukia, and this, none of this is real is it…I'm dead aren't I, and being judged… well fine then"

Layne paced around for a couple of seconds and turned back to Rukia, who hadn't been staring at him, but straight forwards

"I saved you… because at that point, as far as I knew, I'd been abandoned by my closest friend, and following Ichigo was my only choice"

Rukia nodded and vanished

Layne turned to Moll

"And what significant life question do you have to ask?"

"Why didn't you accept the Captain's position and stay with Joel and I?"

"Truthfully, not because I'm lazy, but because I was still alive, and I sure as hell intended to stay that way"

"You used your full strength as you knew it against me…why can't you do the same against a hollow?" Joel asked, as Moll vanished

Layne opened his mouth to answer, then shut it again

"I don't know"

Joel and the Sokyoku Hill vanished and Layne was back in the cornered round room

"What, I don't know was the right answer?"

The room vanished again, and it replaced itself with the rocky area of Urahara's basement just in front of Layne's house, with Kieran, Ichigo and Diff standing with him

"I'm your own brother, your flesh and blood relation, but you could kill me without a second thought" Kieran said

"You killed our Mother you sick son of a bitch" Layne spat "Every single breath you take is one more than you deserve"

"You follow me…" Ichigo began, before being cut off by Layne's quick reply

"Because you're the only person who's never given me a single reason to doubt you"

"You can't beat me" Diff stated

"I don't fucking know why" Layne growled

Layne's house vanished, and it was back to the circular room, and then it flashed to an unfamiliar place, a desert which Layne was quite sure he'd never been before, and in the distance, Layne could make out a white fortress

Kira, Aizen, Mollow and Visera

"_Now how do I know that name?" _Layne wondered

"You killed me" Kira said, almost accusingly

"Yeah, and I've come to terms with it, sometimes the best way to help other people is to eliminate the most dangerous of them"

"You hate me" Aizen said

"You created me as I am now, your mistake"

Mollow opened her mouth and Layne stuck his hand up

"Don't say anything, I've already failed to defeat you once, and only a failure loses to the same person twice…you're one up… and the next time we meet, I'll even that score, be it after Ichigo kicks you're sorry ass to me"

"Can you defeat me?" Visera asked

"I don't know"

The scene flashed back to the cornered round room, then to the two lone trees next to Layne's reiatsu pool, with Joel, Diff and Visera

"Why can you unleash hell on me, but not on a hollow?" Joel asked

"We made the same choice, but I had to get through... but you didn't have to stop me, Oath's made to my friends last longer than Oath's made to an organisation… otherwise you'd have the Oathkeeper"

"Why can't you beat me?" Diff asked

"Because I'm afraid that if I beat you, I'll become you, but it doesn't matter at this point does it"

"Can you beat me?"

"I don't know, but if I ever see you… I'll sure as hell try"

* * *

"Why'd Shinji go last?" Mashiro asked "He never goes last, he says last has to take the longest"

"It's been too long already" Kensei muttered "Seventy minutes is far too long for this, why doesn't Shinji call it off?"

Lisa looked over at Shinji, who looked beaten to absolute hell, but hadn't made a mark on Layne for the past four minutes

"Thanks Shinji" she whispered "But even I know when to quit"

Lisa turned to Kensei

"It's time to shut it down"

* * *

Layne threw his eyes open, and stood up, at the bottom of his reiatsu pool. Suddenly able to breath it, see through it, and move through it as effortlessly as he did through air

Layne looked up, unable to see the top of lake, and shrugged, summoning Oathkeeper to him, and rocketing upwards

* * *

"Hachi, lower the barrier before Layne kills Shinji" Love said curtly, between the eight of us we should be able to put him down"

"Wait!" Lisa cried "Look at that!"

Layne backed off, clawing at his face

"Leave the barrier up, but get Shinji out!" Lisa yelled

Hachi nodded and Love and Rose ran to grab Shinji out

* * *

"Guess you're not as weak as I thought you were" Diff taunted, as Layne emerged from the water and landed in front of him "Now that you've pulled the last of that will to continue on out, I can crush you and take over once and for all"

Layne said nothing, just smiled and beckoned

"Don't get cocky, I'll be the one sitting on the pedestal from now on" Diff snarled, charging forwards

"I see what you are now… Oblivion, the most destructive force, and yet… not evil, like you said Diff, I spose I should thank you"

Layne held his right hand out and Oblivion appeared in it

Diff didn't seem to notice, because he continued his charge

Layne's blades flashed and suddenly Diff was pinned against one of the trees, Oblivion impaled through his chest

"I'm still the boss, and until Time says otherwise, I'll be here for an eternal session"

"Sonuvaslut" Diff choked out "Can't believe I'm losing to you"

"Get used to it"

* * *

"This is different" Hiyori muttered "It's like he's still fighting the hollow for control"

Lisa nodded "But it proves he still in there"

A sudden wash of reiatsu overtook them all and they started watching Layne, who had succeeded in ripping three jagged lines along the left side of his face

And then exploded, the force straining the barrier, and blowing everyone back away from the barrier

"Did it work?" Mashiro asked "I hope Roady-tan is ok"

"We'll see" Love said curtly "seventy minutes is a long time… let the barrier down Hachi, we'll see what happens"

Hachi clicked his fingers slowly, trembling with his exertion, and once again the golden barrier shattered and disappeared, slowly allowing the dust to settle, revealing Layne, still transformed

"Ready everyone?" Kensei asked "Looks like we need to put it down after all"

The Vizards charged forwards, and Layne held up his hand

"Wait a second!" Lisa warned "It's doing something"

Layne clenched his fist and then unclenched it, the white hollow casing around his hand breaking off and disappearing into the air

The Vizards watched as the rest of the shell fell off, and Layne fell to his knees, sporting a very oddly shaped mask.

The mouth area was pointed slightly forwards, and along the left side there were jagged rips in it, corresponding where Layne had scratched himself in hollow form, and there were three green jagged stripes from the top of his right eyehole, to the top right corner of the mask, the eyes perfectly matched his own sockets and there were two nose slits just under his nostrils

The mask fell off and Layne slumped backwards, staring at the painted sky

The Vizards approached him slowly

"How is it?" Lisa asked

"I feel like shit" Layne replied

Lisa smirked and helped him up, supporting most of his weight, before reacting in surprise to his still white right hand

"You've still got some armor on you" she said, sounding concerned

Layne looked at it, and surprisingly, the pattern had changed yet again, from a giant green cross that encompassed his hand, and this time, he recognized it

"No… that's my hand, but the tattoo is… Omega?"

"Omega?"

"The Greek letter… that's just freaking weird"

* * *

"That's so… not cool!" Orihime exclaimed, bursting into her room to see Matsumoto and Hitsugaya staring at a giant television screen mounted on her far wall "What is this?"

"Of course you'd get home right now" Hitsugaya muttered, facepalming, but not looking away from the screen

"This is Toshiro Hitsugaya of the 10th division"

"**Acknowledged, patching you through" **the Tv spoke back, surprising Orihime

The Tv flashed out for a second, then back in on Yamamoto

"Head Captain" Hitsugaya greeted

"Head Captain-san…" Orihime said quietly behind him

"You worked quickly in setting up this link" Yamamoto commended "as I've come to expect from you, Captain Hitsugaya"

Hitsugaya waited for Yamamoto to continue

"The only reason that we have made you set up this urgent link so fast is… Aizen Sousuke's true objective has been found"

* * *

"It's like being hungover" Layne muttered, staring at the ceiling "I'd rather gouge my brain out than live with this headache for a second longer"

"Too bad" Lisa replied, standing over the futon he was sprawled across on "You have to get up, and you have to come practice your hollow mask"

"…."

"Or I do I have to start tearing up in here?"

Layne shot out of his bed, so fast

"No… lets go practice"

* * *

"Aizen's… true objective?" Hitsugaya asked, shocked

"Indeed"

"This sounds kind of important" Orihime said quickly, walking towards the door "I'll just leave you to it"

"Wait, this concerns you humans too… so please listen" Yamamoto said gravely

Orihime nodded and stayed to listen

Yamamoto explained how they'd been searching for Aizen's research, and was about to go into a long winded explanation of the entire thing before Hitsugaya asked him to get to the point

"Of course, Ukitake discovered evidence of Aizen's research on a topic completely unrelated to the Hogyoku… but on the Ouken"

The shock Hitsugaya and Matsumoto felt was evident from their slack jaws

"Ouken?" Orihime asked "That's…"

"It's exactly how it sounds" Matsumoto explained "We have a king, but since he doesn't do anything and leaves all the operation to us, then we don't feel his presence"

"Aizen has found a way to create an Ouken, rather than the location of the one we currently have… and he needs to wipe Karakura town off the face of the planet to finish it"

"We can't… we can't let that happen… is there a way to stop it?" Orihime asked bleakly

"Even if their isn't… we will find a way, that is the purpose of the Gotei 13"

Matsumoto turned and smiled at Orihime reassuringly

"We have time, according to Kurotsuchi's report the Hogyoku will not awaken for another four months, and Aizen will not be able to mobilize until then… so the decisive battle will be in winter, and until then polish your skill and make ready for war"

"Yes Sir!"

"And… we might not be able to do this by ourselves, We will require the strength of the human world, so could you please inform Ichigo Kurosaki, and Layne Trell"

"Yes Sir!" Orihime said firmly, turning and running out of the room

* * *

Chad crashed into one of the rock pillars under Urahara's store, sending chunks of stone flying in all directions

"Come on Sado, shouldn't it be you schooling me?" Joel asked, rotating Fist of the Mountain "I did steal the whole arm idea off you, but if you're done for the day, that's cool too"

"Not a chance" Chad said, standing back up and rushing at Joel

"Good as"

* * *

Layne cracked his knuckles and neck, ignoring Ichigo getting the shit kicked out of him behind him

"Do I have to do that as well?" he asked

Lisa laughed "No, I'm a lot different to Hiyori, pass me your zanpakuto"

Layne raised an eyebrow, but tossed his sealed zanpakuto, still sheathed to her

She unsheathed them, and stabbed them into the ground, along with her own one

"Those swords don't leave the ground for five days, got it?"

"Sounds good to me" Layne replied "Let's get started"

"Alright, summon your mask"

Layne reached up to his face with his hollowfied right hand, but was stopped as Lisa flashstepped forward and slapped him

"Do it without using your hands"

"Wait What?"

* * *

**a/n - ftw, done XD**

**Fall Back in line chapter coming up, staggering releases... lost all my drafts for it and having to rewrite is fail**


	39. Chapter 38: Void Eternity

**a/n - G'day, have another 3000 words ;D**

* * *

"Without using my hands" Layne asked "How in the…"

"It makes sense doesn't it?" Lisa commented "You have both your hands constantly busy… and if you take your hands off your sword for even a moment in time, then you're doing it wrong, especially if you're a master swordsman"

"Point taken"

Layne concentrated hard, focusing on forming the mask over his face, rather than in his hand

"This is a lot harder than in the hand" Layne exclaimed, feeling his effort shatter

"It'd be a lot easier if you shut up and focused"

Layne nodded, and shut up, fragments of mask forming on his face, starting at the three rips on the left side, and gradually forming until his face was covered, and his eyes flashed and turned yellow

"Hell yeah" Layne said, his voice altered somehow, sounding less like a human, and tinging it with hollow

"Very good, it takes too long though; you'll have to work on it"

* * *

"_Training with Sado isn't as easy as I thought it would be" _Joel thought, deflecting one of Chad's energy blasts with a flick of his wrist "_He's not as weak as he thinks he is"_

Joel deflected another blast by using Way to the Dawn

"Come on Chad, shooting blasts of energy won't get through my defences anytime soon"

"_It's a shame we're both only limited to one arm… with two arms we could have a nice brawl"_

* * *

Layne's mask shattered and fell away, and Layne lay flat on his back, breathing heavily

Lisa clicked her stopwatch off

"I'm amazed… you've improved a whole second in the past 5 hours"

"Your sarcasm. Fails. To amuse me." Layne panted

"Oh I'm not being sarcastic, that's way above what I expected" Lisa said quickly "Especially considering we are just working on how fast you can form it"

"Does that mean. Again?"

Lisa nodded

"Fuck. My Life."

* * *

Ichigo's mask shattered and fell away and he fell to one knee, gasping for breath

Hiyori kicked him in the face

"Did I say you could release Hollow Form Baldy!" she screeched at him

"Are you kidding me?" Ichigo shouted back "I would have been in real trouble if I hadn't released it just then!"

"That's the whole point of training, to train until you're in trouble!" Hiyori shouted

* * *

"There are bloody noisy" Lisa muttered, glancing over at Ichigo and Hiyori having a shouting match "I wonder if they are actually getting something done though" glancing at Layne, who looked like he was on the verge of passing out, lying flat on his back, staring at the ceiling

"Come on Layne, get up… we're far from done"

"Can't… move" Layne replied "Feeling… weird"

Lisa ignored him and turned around

"I do know how much your exerting, just putting on that mask and holding it for as long as possible… but Ichigo is using far more reiatsu than you, I thought you were supposed to have his back"

Oblivious to Layne getting up behind her, glowing faintly green she continued

"If you can't match him, then how do you expect to have his back?"

"That's enough" Layne said calmly, "I'm ready to go again"

Lisa turned around in amazement as Layne formed his mask in an instant and stared at her

"_Impossible… he's literally increasing his maximum reiatsu as I watch him, rather than just refilling the tanks"_

Ignoring her look of amazement Layne cracked a grin, his mask splitting jaggedly where his mouth should have been

"How's that?"

"Look at your hand"

Layne looked as his left hand, then his right one

"Holy…"

Layne's right hand wasn't shaped like a hand, more reminiscent of the claws he'd sported during his full hollowfication

"I think…oh hell yes"

Layne pointed his claw at a pillar a few metres away

"Void Eternity"

A dark green Cero fired and reduced the pillar to rubble

"You mean Cero" Lisa said flatly

Layne shrugged "I just felt like calling it Void Eternity… it's pretty apt"

Lisa shook her head

"I should have warned Hachi I was about to release that much reiatsu, I think he shat his pants trying to compensate for it" Layne said idly, his mask shattering, and with it, his claw changing back into a hand

* * *

"There it is" Orihime said quietly, staring at the nondescript building that everyone was walking past

Orihime watched a cat walk right past it

"_It's like that cat is walking on the very edge of it"_

Orihime walked closer to the building and put her hand on the barrier surrounding it

"_It feels like my own Shun Shun Rikka shield… I can do this"

* * *

_

"Faster Ichigo! Again!" Hiyori shouted at him

"I know! "

Ichigo reached up to his face, and ripped his mask into existence, just as Hiyori leapt at him

Ichigo blocked Hiyori's kick with the back of his arm

"That hurts" he growled

"You're first move is too slow" Hiyori said "If this battle was decided by the first blow, you'd be dead by now"

Hiyori kicked him with her other foot and sent him flying into a boulder

"He really hasn't increased the duration he can maintain it all has he" Hachi commented

"Well, it's not an easy thing, no matter how well Layne does it" Shinji said

Ichigo's mask shattered, and Kensei, keeping time called out to Shinji "4 seconds!"

"So quick" Shinji said

"You never told me why you reversed your stance on Trell-kun"

"At first I was convinced that Aizen had control of him somehow, but Layne freely said that Aizen said that Layne was one of his creations"

"And that didn't trigger any warning bells"

"I was still opposed to it; Lisa's been the only one on that kids side from the start, I'll be honest… after that cero I'm seeing what she sees in him, but I'm still not entirely sure"

"Then why nearly get yourself killed fighting with his hollow before?"

"I trust Lisa, and I trust Ichigo" Shinji said "I don't trust him, but two outta three isn't too bad"

"Hey" Mashiro "Why do Berry-tan and Roady-tan have do this"

"Its practice, so they can maintain their hollow forms for longer periods of time, you had to do it to" Kensei replied with a frown

"No I didn't"

"You lying?"

"It's true" Shinji cut in "Mashiro could hold it for fifteen hours from her first go, she didn't have to do it at all"

"I'd forgotten about that" Kensei growled

Hachi looked up and around in alarm suddenly, startling everyone

"What's up Hachi?" Layne asked, after his mask shattered

"Someone has slipped through my barrier"

All the Vizards within earshot reacted with alarm

"Shinigami?" Love asked

"No… it would be impossible for a Shinigami to get through this barrier, I designed it myself after our hollowfication"

"Then it's a Vizard?" Kensei asked

"Just being a Vizard wouldn't allow you to just slip through the barrier, another Vizard would have had to destroy it"

"Then what manner of creature is it?" Kensei asked, pulling out Tachikaze and spinning it around "And do we need to kill it?"

Layne and the Vizards turned to look at the stairs, where footsteps could be heard

"Here it comes" Kensei said cautiously, Layne summoned his mask, painfully aware that both of his zanpakuto were buried in the ground a hundred metres away

Orihime appeared at the top of the steps

"A human?" The Vizards exclaimed collectively

"Ummm hi" Orihime said awkwardly "Where's the bathroom?.. Just kidding"

Layne watched Kensei's veins nearly pop out of his head

"Huh" he growled loudly

"She said just kidding… don't kill her Kensei" Lisa warned

"If I was in her situation… I don't think I could say just kidding" Love commented

Layne burst out in laughter, cackling evil laughter because his mask still hadn't worn off

Ichigo and Hiyori, who had been paying no heed to the conversation we're still fighting, and Ichigo crashed next to the stairs

"What are you doing Ichigo?" Hiyori shouted

"Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime exclaimed

Layne's mask chose that moment to expire, with him still in the middle of laughing

"Trell-kun!"

"Inoue?" Ichigo asked in amazement

* * *

"So that's how it is" Ichigo said, sitting with Orihime and Layne away from the Vizards, Orihime having just finished the explanation

"I'll admit dude, this makes our suicide assault against Kira look easy" Layne said "I don't have an idea what it's all about though"

"You two… don't really seem shocked"

"Oh I'm shocked… but it hasn't really sunk in" Layne said

"Wipe that worried look off your face Inoue" Ichigo assured her "I'll stop Aizen"

"Don't worry about it, I owe that bastard for this" Layne said, pointed at his hand "If saving Karakura factors into it, then icing on the cake"

"Damn right" Ichigo agreed

"Oi Lisa, lets go again!" Layne called out, walking off

"Thanks for coming to tell us, we'll get stronger… I can still get a lot stronger, and that's all I need to know" Ichigo said, also getting up and calling out to Hiyori

"Oi Orihime" Layne called back "Tell Joel that he's welcome to tap the stash while he's here… if he can remember where it is"

Orihime nodded and smiled, watching the two of them walk off

"_That's it… they aren't shocked because it hasn't sunk in yet, but because they are getting stronger, Ichigo doesn't care what the enemy will do, or why, but just where he is at and where he needs to be… he really is… getting stronger, and it's not thick and scary like before… oh yeah, I need to get stronger too"_

Orihime sprinted off, and up the stairs

* * *

"Just what the hell was with that woman?" Kensei growled

"She seemed to know Layne and Ichigo" Lisa pointed out "She just talked to them, and then hightailed it"

"That's Orihime-chan…" Shinji began "She was my first love"

"Oh not this bullshit again" Kensei growled

"Shinji, you say that to all the cute girls… you've even said it about me" Lisa said disdainfully

"OH, you say it to all the cute girls do you Shinji?" Hiyori yelled "How come I don't remember ya saying it to me!"

"Cause I didn't"

"Don't look away!" Ichigo shouted, nearly slicing Hiyori in two

"Hachi?" Love asked

"Yes?"

"Your barriers are perfect, there is no doubting that… so how did that Orihime girl get in?"

"From inspecting her reiatsu up close, it appears that she has similar barrier abilities to my own, and that makes it so she, and only she can find and get in… it's a little troubling that a human has such abilities however"

* * *

"Yoruichi-san!" Orihime exclaimed in surprise, as Yoruichi appeared right in front of her

"Ah, there you are Inoue" Yoruichi said "I was looking for you, because Kisuke wanted me to take you to the underground room"

"Hellooo Inoue-san" Urahara greeted, both enthusiastically, and creepy as all hell "It's been hell watching these three filithy men, surely having a young lady around will brighten the mood"

"I showered, thank you very much" Joel replied acerbically "It's Renji's turn today anyway"

"Only three filithy men?" Yoruichi asked "If I don't qualify as a woman to you Kisuke, then maybe I'll move into Layne's house, I'm sure he'll appreciate my femininity"

"Which reminds me, Layne is out of 4 different types of alcohol… I may or may not have tapped the stash without asking" Joel mused

"Anyway" Urahara said, turning serious "Matsumoto-san of Squad 10 came around recently… and the upshot is that both us, and Soul Society will require much more offensive power this time around"

"I understand" Orihime replied stoutly "I want to get stronger"

"I want you" Urahara said, turning around "To stay out of the battle this time around"

Orihime was shocked, so were Renji, Chad and Joel, who all stopped what they were doing and started paying attention to Urahara

"Since Tsubaki was destroyed, and you haven't been able to rebuild him, you've lost your only source of offensive power"

"But Inoue has Defensive and healing powers, those are far more important than attack!" Chad insisted loudly

"Santen Kesshun isn't strong enough, and for healing, Squad 4 are battle trained are far more suited to the front lines…. This will be a war, not one small engagement, but a full blown war, and in war… a soldier without strength will only get in the way"

* * *

"This is stupid" Layne muttered, looking upside down at Lisa "Why did you make me learn to stand on my head… and form a mask"

"Mostly for kicks" she replied, moving closer

"Aye! Don't move close or I'll be looking up your ski…"

Lisa pushed him over and his mask shattered

"Keep focus" she admonished him "If you can't subconsciously keep the mask on during something like that, then how do you expect to keep it on in the middle of a fight"

"You…skirt…upside down head" Layne countered feebly, rolling over and sitting up

"Would you like me to give you head upside down?"

"WHAT!" Layne exclaimed, going tomato red, with faint wisps of smoke emerging from his ears

"Isn't that what you just said?"

"What the fuck no, that's just…no"

"Well, it would really test your concentration… actually; it's not a half bad idea"

"It's a terrible, terrible idea"

"Get on your head, we are doing this"

"You're not seriously considering this are you?" Layne asked "I hope this is a joke… like I'm seriously hoping"

"C'mon Layne" Lisa said playfully, "There's' a lot more to living than just being alive"

"Sure… but there's a proper order to all of this… and this sure as hell ain't it"

"Well you better start running then, because if I catch you… we're going to train the way I want to" Lisa said, smirking evilly

Layne was gone before she finished the word catch

"_Holy hell, he's bloody fast even without his mask on"

* * *

_

"That Urahara bastard… said something like that, I'll go kick his ass" Rukia growled

"It's ok" Orihime sniffed "I've calmed down since talking to you… I'm sure its better this way"

Rukia grabbed Orihime's collar and jammed her head against hers

"It is NOT better this way, haven't you fought until now, didn't you march straight into Soul Society and fight? Haven't you been supporting Ichigo so far? Didn't you heal Layne when that Arrancar was right outside your house? Isn't it frustrating, to be cast aside so easily?"

"No…It's not frustrating" Orihime said quietly

"Don't Lie!" Rukia yelled back

"I'm not lying!" Orihime yelled back, before quietly saying "It's just… going to be lonely not being able to fight with everyone… but being lonely is far better than being in the way, if I'm going to be a hindrance to Kurosaki-kun and everyone… then I'd far rather be lonely"

Rukia sighed and knelt down "Inoue… listen, In a battle it isn't those who lack power that are in the way, it's those that lack resolve… in Soul Society, no one lacked resolve and became a hindrance, not Ichigo, not Sado, not Ishida, not Layne, not Moll and not you Inoue… if a single one of you hadn't been in Soul Society, then I wouldn't be here today, there has to be something you can do… let's look for it together

It felt like an earthquake as Hiyori slammed down next to them, breaking off fragments of floor

Rukia and Inoue looked at her in shock

"Hachi wants to see you" she said curtly, grabbing Orihime and leaping off

"What in the world was that?" Rukia exclaimed

* * *

"Ouch!" Orihime yelped as Hiyori dropped her on the ground, in front of Hachi

"Hachi is just a nickname, my real name is Ushoda Hachigen" Hachi said calmly, inspecting Orihime

"N..Nice to meet you" she stuttered

* * *

"_Did Hachi just flashstep while sitting down?" _Layne thought "_I have got to learn how to do that"_

"Pay attention Layne" Lisa shouted, narrowly missing catching Layne

"Why? You haven't caught me yet" Layne asked "That's the closest you've been since we started"

"Then maybe I should stop holding back"

Lisa flashstepped

"Shit" Layne muttered, forming his hollow mask and jerking back, as Lisa's hand flashed past his face

Layne grinned and disappeared

"Playing hard to get huh?" Lisa muttered

* * *

"It's a good thing I brought your severed arm back, or they might not have let you back into the Espada" Ulquiorra said noncommittally

Yammi growled, but didn't reply, knowing that Ulquiorra was right

"Aizen-sama called for us"

* * *

"You're already dead, that's some deep shit don't you think? To just stop fighting, and inform someone of their own death, when they don't even realize it themselves" Love asked Rose

"Stop spoiling the manga I bought before I read it" Rose replied irritably watching Lisa try and catch Layne, "it's not even that great of a line"

"Has she gotten him yet?"

"Getting close, but just as I think she's about to, he puts on his mask for a burst of speed and puts a lot of distance between them"

"Why doesn't she just use her mask?"

"And run him into the ground? She's not Hiyori, who thinks that beating the stuffing out of Ichigo is training him, Lisa will catch him eventually, but she's going to wait until he's run himself ragged"

"That makes sense, how long is he at?"

Rose's reply was cut off by Kensei clanging on a dish and shouting

"Dinner you bastards, last one here has to do the dishes!"

* * *

"Layne" Ichigo asked at dinner

"Yeah?" Layne replied, swallowing his carrot

"Your colours are all fucked up"

"Wut"

"Look at yourself; you've got one white hand with a green letter on it, one normal hand, one brown eye, and one green eye"

"I have one green eye? That's freaking awesome, I haven't looked in a mirror since Orihime restored them"

* * *

**a/n - far out, nearly 40 chapters, another one inc**


	40. Chapter 39: Where Sea Meets Sky

**a/n - Hiyo ;D**

**Here's another chapter for you guys, bit of a NSFW warning here, but hey... i should of put that at the beginning of the story for all the swear words i've used XD**

* * *

"Where's that whistling coming from?" Rukia wondered out loud to Orihime "I've never heard anyone whistling out this late at night… or anyone whistling… anywhere"

As Rukia and Orihime approached the sound of whistling suddenly there was a large flash of light, a loud bang , and the sounds of Moll stringing swear words filled the air

"It's Moll" Rukia said "What could she be doing all the way out here?"

They ran for a few seconds until Moll came in sight, still swearing her head of

"Shit fuck shit gah bloody son of a stab you piece of…" She cursed, cradling her right hand with her left hand

"Are you alright?" Orihime asked, concerned

"Oh hey Rukia, Orihime… do I fucking look like I'm alright? I nearly seared all the skin off my damned hand?" Moll growled "Don't ask a stupid question"

"Sorry" Orihime said, taken aback

"I'm sorry for snapping, but I'm literally about to pass out in pain, can you fix this up please?"

"Soten Keshun" Orihime murmured, kneeling down as a golden shield encased Moll's hand

Moll sighed in relief

"Oh that's so much better, now we can talk"

"What were you doing out here, and how did you injure yourself so badly"

"Training with So.. kido, training with kido and it misfired"

"This is extreme for a misfire" Rukia commented, inspecting the burn

"The last time I misfired I destroyed one of the training rooms… I'm not allowed to train in the training rooms anymore" Moll said sheepishly "So I had to come out here"

Rukia nodded, remembering that incident, Joel had freaked the fuck out

Moll realized something

"Wait a minute Rukia… Orihime, what the fuck are you doing in Seireitei… whats happening down in the real world, how's Joel, how's Layne?"

"Calm down" Rukia replied "Joel's fine, training with Renji and Sado, but I don't know where Layne is"

"Trell-kun is fine" Orihime added "He's training with Kurosaki-kun"

"We came here to use the training grounds behind 13th division"

"Why don't you train with us?" Orihime offered "If you hurt yourself again I can heal it"

"Sounds like a hell of a plan" Moll accepted

"_Even if I actually have to train my kido now…"_

* * *

Ulquiorra lightly tapped on the large white doors in front of him

"It's Ulquiorra, I'm coming in"

The doors swung open for Ulquiorra and Yammy and Aizen turned around

"Ahh, you made it, Ulquiorra, Yammy, we were just finishing up"

Ulquiorra looked around the room as he walked down the stairs, recognizing all the figures present in the room, the other Espada, Kieran, Jed, and Anita, Visera and Mollow

The Espada and Visera were obvious, Kieran as well, Jed and Anita not so much, Mollow were also confusing choices, though with as much things that had been involving them recently Ulquiorra supposed he should just consider her an honorary members of the Espada, her level was at least similar.

Aizen was doing something to a bandaged figure kneeling in front of him, holding his hand over its head and upon closer inspection Ulquiorra could see him holding the Hogyoku

"What is the progress of the Hogyoku?" Ulquiorra asked emotionlessly

"Fifty percent" Aizen replied "Right on schedule… as far as Soul Society is concerned, Of course, without actually touching it, it's impossible to understand, even Kisuke Urahara wouldn't know, having sealed it away as soon as he created it… that if someone above Captain Class reiatsu temporarily joins their reiatsu with that of the Hogyoku"

As Aizen was speaking his monologue, light was emerging from his fingertips, illuminating the room, and the faces of everyone present

"It displays for the smallest instant, the power of the Hogyoku in its fully awakened state" he finished, the illumination from his hand peaking and then disappearing so the room was mostly covered in shadows again

The bandages around the kneeling figure hardened and shattered, leaving a naked figure staring blankly at Aizen

"What's your name, comrade?" Aizen asked

"Wonderwiess… Wonderwiess Margera" Wonderwiess murmured blankly

Aizen was silent for a few seconds, and then spoke without looking at Ulquiorra

"Ulquiorra, Visera… you do remember the directive I discussed with you last month?"

"Yes Sir" Ulquiorra said, as Visera nodded

"Put it into action, the details are at your discretion, take whoever you want…ahh and would you go too? Grimmjow?, Mollow?"

Grimmjow and Mollow glared at each other, before nodding slightly

* * *

"Dammit!" Yumichika screamed at the top of his lungs, beginning to smash his zanpakuto on a nearby rock and cursing incoherently "Break damn you!"

"Quiet down" Rangiku snapped

"It's this Fuji Kujaku bastard! It thinks it's the most beautiful thing in the world, I'm pretty sure that I'll never materialize it, and even if it asked me too… I wouldn't"

"Isn't that just like you? At least Haineko is nothing like me, spoiled and lazy, moody and stupid, nothing at all like me"

"You two are soo similar, you're the type of person that sees a picture of you and says something like 'No way do I look like that"

"SHUT UP AND FOCUS. OR I SWEAR I'LL SEND YOU BACK TO SOUL SOCIETY!" Hitsugaya bellowed, breaking up their argument

"I swear, are they incapable of calming down and talking to their swords? He muttered to Ikkaku, who had his eyes closed as he calmly conversed with Hozukimaru

Ikkaku cracked one eye open, and looked up at the sky

"_The clouds are sure moving fast" _he thought

"Hmm, you say something Madarame?" Hitsugaya asked

"No… nothing"

Behind Ikkaku, a split appeared in the sky

* * *

"There you are" Hisagi said as he approached Ukitake, who was sitting on a grassy overhang, watching ahead "What are you doing out here?"

Ukitake turned his head to see who it was

"Ah, Hisagi-kun, I was just relaxing and doing some sightseeing"

Ukitake pointed out across the overhang, where Moll, Rukia and Orihime were training in a formerly lush field, before Moll and Rukia's kido got to it

"Isn't that, Rone, Kuchiki and the Ryoka girl?" Hisagi asked

"Orihime-chan" Ukitake corrected "They've been training for the war for a month now"

"For training, it sure looks like they're having fun" Hisagi commented

"It's good that Kuchiki has made good friends, she was never very good at it"

"Even if one of those friends is a human?" Hisagi questioned

"Don't say that"

"Sorry"

"Nah, no problem, it doesn't matter what your friends do, a friend is a friend, and those kids aren't normal anyway, it's likely they could all become Shinigami when they die, they're mostly more powerful than the majority of the Shinigami we have anyway"

"That's true" Hisagi replied

* * *

Ikkaku, Hitsugaya, Matsumoto and Yumichika all turned towards the Garganta at the same time, as it opened, revealing Grimmjow, Yammy, Wonderwiess, Mollow and another Arrancar with short black hair, and sleeves that covered his arms

"Isn't it too early!" Yumichika exclaimed

"It is too early" Hitsugaya replied, "But they're here anyway"

Up high, Yammy was feeling good

"We came out in a pretty nice spot" he muttered "Lots of high reiatsu"

"What are you talking about?" The unnamed Arrancar said "They're Shinigami, doesn't that make them the reinforcements that Mister six was talking about?"

"The bastard I want to kill isn't here" Grimmjow growled, disappearing

"Fuckwit beat me to it" Mollow cursed, before disappearing also

"Bastards" Yammy growled

"Forget it" The unnamed Arrancar said "He's a fallen Espada and she's a failure, its not like they can do anything"

"Ch, Luppi, the guy I want to kill isn't in that group either"

"Would that be the one that cut off your arm, the one that nearly sliced you in two with a reiatsu wave, the one that beat you up, or the one that blocked your cero"

Yammy turned to Luppi and grinned widely

"All of them!"

Yammy quickly unsheathed his sword and blocked a strike of Hitsugaya

"10th division Captain, Toshiro Hitsugaya" Hitsugaya introduced calmly

"What a coincidence, I'm a 10 too, Arrancar Diez, Yammy"

"10? Are you an Espada?"

"Exactly, you must of fought someone who doesn't know how to shut up"

"Are you an Arrancar too?" Yumichika asked Luppi

"Yes, my rank is… Sexta"

Wonderwiess sighed and knelt down, drooling as he watched a butterfly go past

"Is it really ok… to kill this guy?" Matsumoto muttered

* * *

Love and Kensei crashtackled Ichigo into the ground

"Let me go!" he shouted "I have to go fight!"

"We told you, you're not ready yet!" Kensei shouted back

"This is why your friends from Soul Society came, to deal with situations like this!" Love added

"But that's why I've been training, whats the point if I don't go now!" Ichigo yelled in desperation

Shinji grabbed the back of Kensei's jersey and pulled him off Ichigo

"Let him go"

"Oi Shinji, what are you thinking!" Kensei asked as Ichigo sprinted off up the stairs

* * *

Layne finally reached the place where his zanpakuto were buried up to their hilts in the ground, to find Lisa standing on top of them

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked calmly "You're nowhere near ready to take on Arrancar"

"Maybe not… but if I don't deal with this one then I don't deserve to continue existing"

"That's a big call to make"

"Maybe, but it doesn't change the fact that I'm going to do this"

Lisa hopped off the zanpakuto and picked them up, tossing them to Layne

"Remember, fifteen seconds"

"Plenty of time" Layne replied before vanishing

* * *

Ichigo ran outside the building and nearly ran straight into Grimmjow

"I was looking for ya, Shinigami" Grimmjow spat

"That's my line" Ichigo replied confidently, unwrapping Zangetsu and getting ready do Bankai "I'm going to show just you how much I've changed over the past couple of months"

"Kuchiki!" Ukitake shouted

"I heard the report!" Rukia shouted back at him "If the Kido brigade opens the gate I'll be on my way!"

"Wait Kuchiki-san" Orihime exclaimed after her, "I'll come…"

"You can't come Inoue, without a Hell Butterfly you'll just get sent to the Kouryuu currents"

"We're sealing those up, but it will take some time before you can safely get back" Ukitake said "I know you're rushing to get off, but you need to be patient"

"Yes sir" Orihime said meekly

"C'mon Inoue, I'll go with you through the Kouryuu, I'm going to this tango now, orders or no orders, and I hate travelling by Hell butterfly anyway" Moll said, slapping her on the back

* * *

"Fucking Grimmjow's already found that fucking kid" Mollow cursed, flying around in circles "Where the hell could mine be?"

A large ball of water tackled her out of the air

* * *

"Bankai?" Grimmjow asked derisively "What's that going to do? Have you forgotten that you were helpless against me with that Bankai?"

"Aren't you forgetting, that it was my Bankai technique that gave you that scar?" Ichigo replied, shutting Grimmjow up

"There's one thing I want to ask you though, what happened to your arm?" Ichigo continued

"I threw it away before I got here" Grimmjow smirked "I don't need two arms to kill you"

"Then its ok if I don't hold back at all then" Ichigo said reaching up to his face

"If you don't want to die, you'd better not!"

"_I only got 11 seconds, I'd better wrap this up before then!" _Ichigo thought as he pulled his mask into existence

Grimmjow stared in shock as he felt the reiatsu levels Ichigo was putting out as the mask appeared

"What…the fuck is that?"

"Sorry" Ichigo replied "I don't have time to explain!"

Ichigo shot forward like a bullet, and Grimmjow barely had time to draw his sword to block Ichigo's strike, realizing that if he took it on his skin his Hierro would be useless

"Getsuga Tensho!" Ichigo muttered, the black wave enveloping Grimmjow

* * *

Mollow kicked and struggled and managed to break free of Layne's grip before he piledrove her into the ground

"Dammit!" she cursed "You piece of shit"

"Nice to see you too" Layne replied "Ready for round two with a formerly blind man?"

Mollow growled "You're lucky i didn't kill you when you regained your sight, I won't make the same mistake twice"

"Bankai!" Layne shouted "Roxas Final Form!"

"Rise Inside, Sora!" Mollow countered

Layne and Mollow eyed each other off

"Whats the score now?" Layne asked "One and a half my way, and a half your way?"

"Something like that" Mollow spat

"Well, you know what they say about people that lose to the same person twice" Layne said calmly, slowly forming his mask over his face

Mollow stared in shock, with every second of that mask forming over his face, Layne's reiatsu increased exponentially

"That's…that's not right" she growled

"The hell it isn't" Layne replied, leaping forwards and pointing his claw at Mollow

"Void Eternity!"

"_A motherfucking Cero!" _she thought in alarm, throwing up her arms

The black-green cone of energy obscured Layne's sight of Mollow as it swallowed her

"Score one for the Republic" Layne muttered to himself

* * *

"What is this?" Yammy taunted, breaking Hyorinmaru's Ice off of his arm effortlessly "It's soooo cold"

Hitsugaya grunted

"_He's only the 10__th__, but even with the limit released, it's useless without a Bankai"_ Hitsugaya realized, as he dodged a punch

Behind him, Yumichika went flying

"I told you" Luppi smirked "You've got no chance of winning if it's one on one, don't you get it?"

"Shut…up" Yumichika wheezed, pulling himself back up

"Aren't you going to say anything? Luppi shouted at Ikkaku, standing far off, a released Hozukimaru held loosely on his shoulders "I'm really about to kill him"

"Two on one isn't my style"

"Such a bother" Luppi sighed "Yammy, send that kid over here… since I'm annoyed by these guys, I'm going to release, and take you all, four on one, right now"

* * *

"No, you've used to up way too much strength" Renji shouted at Chad, holding him down "I'll go"

"Shut the hell up" Joel said, flykicking Renji in the back of the head "You're tired as all hell too"

"I haven't fought at all today, I'll go"

Urahara wordlessly unsheathed Benihime and walked with Joel towards the ladder

* * *

"_A zanpakuto release!" _Hitsugaya thought in alarm, remembering the one he had faced before

"Like I'll let you!" he shouted at Luppi, charging at him "Bankai! Daiguren Hyorinmaru!"

"Strangle, Trepadora" Luppi muttered

Shadows appeared around Hitsugaya and he enclosed his dragon wings around himself, to block a stab from what looked like a giant tentacle

"That's it, that's your released attack?"

"You took is better than I expected" Luppi mused "But what if the attack was multiplied… by 8?"

Hitsugaya got a good look at Luppi, his release had turned him into an eight tentacle monstrosity

"What…the hell?"

All eight tentacles converged on him at once

"Shit"

"Captain!" Matsumoto shouted as they exploded

"Damn…it" Hitsugaya groaned as he fell to the ground, like an icy shooting star

"I did say, that we should do it four on one" Luppu said patronizingly "Oh, I'm sorry, its four on eight now"

* * *

"That's not a Shinigami's power" Grimmjow breathed "You bastard, what have you been doing the past month"

Grimmjow looked like shit, Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho had made mincemeat of him and he was covered in his own blood

"Just what the fuck were you doing this past month?" Grimmjow yelled

"Told you" Ichigo replird curtly, appearing behind Grimmjow "No time to explain"

Another Black Getsuga overtook Grimmjow and sent him flying towards the ground, with Ichigo in hot pursuit

"Shit" Grimmjow muttered, opening his mouth wide and letting loose a blue beam

"_Cero!" _Ichigo realized, taking it head-on and dissipating it, with a third Getsuga

While he did that, Grimmjow had used Sonido to appear up behind Ichigo, but he turned around and blocked Grimmjow's strike effortlessly

"It's over Grimmjow"

Ichigo's mask shattered

Grimmjow grinned maniacally, seeing his chance

"Damn right it's over Shinigami!"

* * *

"You're pretty good now… Layne" Mollow snarled the name like a curse word, looking at Layne properly now, seeing the rips in his mask and the odd pattern it held

"Not good enough… I didn't get you fully" Layne replied, noting that she was only bleeding on her arm

They both disappeared and reappeared right in front of each other, Oblivion impacting Mollow's arm and Mollow's Golden Keyblade catching Layne on the side of his mask

They both went flying sideways

"_Tried to knock my mask off… well I was kind of worried it might fall off too" _Layne thought to himself, shaking off the impact and charging back at Mollow

Layne forward flipped in midair and sent a Rain off at Moll, using the acceleration of the flip to speed up the Rain, so she just barely dodged it

"Bastard" she growled

Layne dodged her counter Cero and tossed Oblivion and Oathkeeper like boomerangs at Mollow, but she dodged them with ease

"Why…?" She asked, and then her face dropped in horror as she saw what Layne was doing

Machine Gunning Void Eternity blasts at her so fast that his claw was a white blur behind black-green energy

"Shit"

* * *

"This… is a joke" Luppi commented with disdain, looking upon the beaten, but still standing forms of Ikkaku, Yumichika and Matsumoto

"Are you guys really Seated Officers in the Gotei 13?" he asked, and when they didn't reply continued with "Boooooring"

Luppi's tentacles snaked out and grabbed a hold of Ikkaku, Yumichika and Matsumoto

"Hey there Lady" Luppi said sleazily, aiming his comments at Matsumoto "You've got a nice body, so sexy… be a shame if someone were too…fill it full of holes"

One of Luppi's free tentacles sprouted numerous sharp spikes and shot towards Matsumoto

She shut her eyes, bracing for the pain, which never came

Joel had grabbed hold of the spiky tentacle with Fist of the Mountain, which not only covered his usual left arm, but his right arm as well, with Way to the Dawn slung makeshiftly at his back

"It'd be a shame… if someone were to rip this nice tentacle that you've got here" Joel said, mimicking Luppi, and ripping the spiked tentacle apart at the tentacle section as Luppi shouted in pain

"…right off"

* * *

**a/n - harder to find motivation to type, but its just a temporary thing, as soon as i get bored of minecraft i'm sure it'll be all over**


	41. Chapter 40: Ignition

**I'm back, somewhat. expect more =) (the ending is bad, but it's 4 am and I've run out of shits to give)**

* * *

"So how we doing?" Moll asked Orihime lightly as they ran along the Koryuu currents, the urgency in their step at contrast with the frozen walls, something Moll wished she could go back and retroactively change about her first visit to the Soul Society "We've been training for this, and anyway, Hitsugaya-taichou and Ikkaku, Yumichika, Matsumoto, Renji and Joel are on the scene, I bet we'll just get stuck doing cleanup"

The air went cold around them and both Moll and Orihime stopped, the chills penetrating right to their core and freezing them in place

"The ineptitude of Soul Society is astounding" Ulquiorra commented, stepping slowly out of an open Garganta that had appeared in one of the frozen walls "Even they should realize that you are at your most vulnerable while in transit"

Moll went white, and while she wanted to reach her sword she just couldn't, practically being suffocated in the thickness of Ulquiorra's reiatsu, was it even possible for the reiatsu in the air to be so densely packed? How hadn't the particles fused yet?

"I see they didn't leave you entirely unprotected" Ulquiorra continued, not even glancing at Moll as he referred to her, his eyes entirely focused on Orihime as he slowly made his way towards her "But one pathetic original will not be enough to stop me"

With Ulquiorra's words some spark returned to Moll.

"Looking down on me?" she thought angrily as she drew her zanpakuto and interspersed herself between Orihime and the steadily advancing Ulquiorra

Ulquiorra almost smirked. Almost.

"Your refusal to acknowledge a hopeless situation amuses me, It is fortunate for you that a …colleague of mine has requested that you survive this encounter"

Faster than Orihime could follow, Ulquiorra literally flicked Moll out of the way, and into his Garganta, which sealed shut behind her.

"Now, I believe we may have our conversation, uninterrupted"

"Zan…" Orihime began

"Do not speak!" Ulquiorra commanded "Come with me, and you will say yes, because any other word will result in death… but not yours"

Ulquiorra gestured and images appeared floating behind him, images of Ichigo, Hitsugaya and Matsumoto, Ikkaku, Yumichika, Joel and Layne, all bruised, battered and beaten

"I'll kill your friends, every single one of them, No questions, do not say a word, you have no rights in this situation, Just the hangman's noose over each of your friends necks. This is not a negotiation, this is an order."

* * *

"Who the hell are you?" Luppi muttered, seemingly unfazed by Joel ripping off one of his tentacles and tossing it to the side

Joel ignored him, and turned to Matsumoto "He your mate?" he asked jokingly, attempting to take some of the tension off Matsumoto, who was all too aware how close her end had been

"I didn't invite him" she replied weakly "I thought you did"

"Don't ignore me" Luppi snarled, still waving around Ikkaku and Yumichika idly "I will fucking rip you all to shreds"

"I don't take threats well" Joel replied, cracking his neck and rocky knuckles "Duty demands that I kill you, but I'm probably going to have fun beating your ass just the same"

Luppi raised an eyebrow, intrigued by Joel's confidence

"I've never broken someone so cocky before" he said through a smirk "I get to kill five Shinigami today? The other Espada will all be so jealous of me"

Joel punched his rocky fists together, forgoing another quip at Luppi and shunpoed' forwards, narrowly dodging a spiky tentacle as he reappeared behind Luppi, aiming a powerful right hook straight for his face

Luppi ducked under it with ease and countered with a high kick that Joel blocked with his left arm, grunting as he absorbed the impact, reflexively surprised that Luppi's little frame could make a hit with such power, even though it was a moot point as reiatsu was the measure of strength, not muscles.

Luppi's hit had pushed Joel back a little bit, allowing him to grab Luppi's other foot in the middle of a followthrough and crush in his palm, in what would've broken a normal person's foot, but only served to piss Luppi off, who brought around two more spiked tentacles to retaliate

Joel, expecting this, hit the deck so fast he amazed himself, and nearly got caught by a tentacle followthrough that grazed his forehead, damn near taking it off, but leaving Luppi open, exactly what Joel had been waiting for

Joel shot up towards Luppi fists first

"Elevation: Everest!"

* * *

Layne's mask fell to pieces and scattered to the wind as he knelt down, barely able to breathe from his exertions

"_That's it" _he thought to himself, so utterly exhausted even thinking the words seemed like a bad idea "_I'm out, no more mask, no rain, no reiatsu bursts, I've never been so totally and utterly spent"_

Layne glanced over at his handiwork, at the destruction he had used up his entire reserve of energy for, and couldn't see, or sense Mollow anywhere

"_Maybe, I actually vaporized her, I can't sense her anywhere, it's like she just ceased to exist"_

Those last few seconds of furiously firing cero's with his claw had seemed like an eternity, like two years had passed while he rained down pure destruction on the world, and then the world had come back into focus, and there was nothing but the urge to sleep left

A piece of rubble shifted and suddenly Layne was hyperaware of the world around him, as Mollow crawled out, bloody, bruised, but looking more pissed than either dead or vaporized

They locked eyes and instantly recognized the situation

Layne was fucked, completely and unequivocally

Mollow grinned as she picked herself up and retrieved her demon zanpakuto, no longer the proud sword Sora and brandished it at Layne

"I am going to fuck your shit up, and shit in your mouth"

All Layne could do was think "_Goddammit"_

* * *

Ichigo hit the ground as Grimmjow floated down next to him, wearing what could only be described as a shit eating grin

Ichigo backflipped and regained his balance, sliding along the ground and moving to pull his mask back over his face, but grimaced in pain as he tried to force it and was unable too

Grimmjow grinned maliciously and kicked Ichigo in the gut, sending him flying

"Looks like once that mask breaks, you can't take it out again" Grimmjow gloated "No… you taking that pose again means that isn't true… I dunno what it is, maybe you've taken too many hits, lost too much spirit energy or if the mask has charges… whatever it is"

Grimmjow paused, thrusting his sword through Ichigo's wrist, pinning him to the ground

Ichigo grunted in pain

"That mask isn't going to be able to come out again… how's that?"

Grimmjow pulled his arm back, a blue ball of reiatsu beginning to coalesce and glow brightly in the palm

Ichigo recognized what it was instantly and started struggling to free his impaled wrist

"Don't worry" Grimmjow assured him "A Cero from this distance will blow that Mask-Wearing head of yours clean off!"

Suddenly Grimmjow's hand was deep frozen

He stared at it, not realizing what it meant

"What the…"

"Tsugi no Mae, Hakuren" Rukia muttered, standing fifty meters away, Sode no Shirayuki released and pointed directly at Grimmjow

A wave of ice torrented forwards, freezing Grimmjow, and the space between him and Rukia, and behind him for a few meters

"That should do it" Rukia muttered, walking over to Ichigo, who was grateful for the rescue

"That, that is some crazy power" he said weakly, between quick shallow breaths

"You looked like you were using a pretty reckless move there as well" she replied, kneeling down "Don't speak though, save your strength, I'll get you to Urahara's"

Grimmjow's hand shot out of the ice at that second and grabbed Rukia by the head

"Think you can kill me, by just freezing the top layer of my skin bitch?" he sneered, as he charged a cero in his hand

"Dream on"

* * *

Joel's uppercut hit with titanic force, throwing Luppi backwards and releasing Matsumoto, Ikkaku and Yumichika

"This is what happens when you mess with the Gotei 13, more than that, touch my friends again and I will literally rip every single one of your tentacles off and have a cookout" Joel shouted as Luppi recovered, glaring death from the eye not being covered in rivulets of blood

Joel looked over at Yammi and Wonderweiss currently engaged in combat with Urahara, who Joel hadn't even noticed following him, so totally focused on the fight before him

"Don't forget about me" Luppi screamed "My precious face, you made it bleed!"

"There is literally so, so much more where that came from" Joel replied "But it looks like you aren't my problem anymore"

Luppi howled in anger at the dismissal and attempted to bring his remaining tentacles back to throw at Joel all at once, but couldn't

He looked back to see himself tethered to the ground by his remaining tentacles, all encased in crystal clear ice

"You were far too lenient with a fallen opponent" Hitsugaya lectured, rising up from the ground looking tired, but otherwise completely fine "Haven't you ever heard of Zanshin?, not letting up on an opponent who appears to be finished until you are completely sure?"

Luppi craned his neck as far as he could, in shock "You. You were still alive"

"Hyorinmaru is the strongest ice type zanpakuto, it doesn't matter how many times it's shattered, as long as I have water, then it'll reform"

"Dammit!" Luppi shouted, struggling as hard as he could to get free

"Enough" Hitsugaya said forcefully "This battle is over, I have had far, far, far too much time to prepare… If your eight… seven arms are your weapon, Then my weapon is all the water in the atmosphere"

As Hitsugaya spoke he rose Hyorinmaru and icebergs on the same level of that which sunk the titanic all converged slowly in on Luppi

"Sennen Hyourou" Hitsugaya muttered, shifting his sword and causing the icebergs of doom to collapse inwards onto Luppi

"I guess eight arms just weren't enough"

* * *

"You know Layne" Mollow gloated as she lazily strode over to him "This is a real shame I have to end your miserable existence, You're kinda hot, wish my stupid counterpart had been a bit more willing to take you for a tumble, I may… regret not being able to experience that before I kill you"

Mollow knelt down, her shit eating grin evident on her face as she continued "Ahh who the fuck am I kidding, the only thing I regret about you is not being able to gut you like a fish before this moment"

Try as he might, drawing on every single last possible unit of measurement of willpower and energy that he had left in his body Layne just couldn't move

Mollow raised her zanpakuto and prepared to strike down, and end it all, but a spinning silver blade knocked her away

Mollow lost focus on Layne and turned to face the new threat

Sora slowly span back into Moll's hand

"You seriously have no idea how pissed off I am at the moment" Moll growled, walking towards them "The fucking last, last thing I need right now is some fucking clone of mine on a mad homicidal rampage about to kill the fucking idiotic best friend of mine lying on the floor there, so go the fuck home before I unleash my rage"

"Holy shit" thought Layne "They really are the same"

"I've been waiting for this" grinned Mollow "Killing both of you in the one day, this really is the best day ever"

"Nope, I'm out" Moll exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air "I've had literally enough of Soul Society for today, I don't care if this hurts like a bitch, I've literally had it today and as much as I'd really like to know how to came around, a psychotic clone bitch is literally the least of my problems at this point in time"

Moll grinned as she planted Sora into the ground in front of her and pointed two fingers at Mollow

"Hado No.63 Raikoho!"

Out of Moll's fingers an absolute torrent of lightning, thunder and other death spewed forwards, engulfing Mollow in a huge explosion that blasted Moll back into a wall, the recoil ripping chunks of skin from her arms

"Holy shit" Layne thought again, sensing a trend "That isn't supposed to do that, is it?"

Moll picked herself up, smiling weakly at Layne "I lied, I cared a little bit about how much it hurt"

"You idiot" Layne replied "Look how badly you've hurt yourself, I can nearly see your bones"

"And yet" Mollow chimed in, stepping out of the smoke column like she didn't just get hit with the kido equivalent of flying naked through an electrical storm "I still feel pretty good, despite getting hit with both of your last ditch drastic attacks… this really is a fantastic day"

"I'm very sorry to have to spoil it for you then" Visera apologized "But we're done here"

"Fuck that" Mollow growled "I haven't killed them yet"

"That is of no concern to me" Visera replied, calmly "The mission is over, wasting our time any further is an inefficient use of it"

"Tch" Mollow spat, then turned to glare at Moll and Layne, lying in the rubble of the battle "You are ridiculously lucky… I promise the next time I see the both of you, I will rip your heads off"

Mollow and Visera walked into Visera's waiting Garganta, and left, leaving Moll and Layne where they fell

"What the fuck was that?" Moll growled "They could've both killed us at any second, but we got played, what fucking for?" She rotated to try look at Layne "AND WHY THE FUCK WAS SHE ME LAYNE!?"

Soft snores were her only answer

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?

* * *

Ulquiorra's hand appeared from nowhere and grabbed Grimmjow's hand, releasing Rukia's head and negating the cero forming in it

"Not this time Grimmjow, we have what we came for"

They both vanished wordlessly, leaving Ichigo and Rukia confused at their fortune, and wondering why they were still alive

* * *

Beams of light surrounded the forms of Yammy and Wonderwiess, currently duking it out with Urahara and Joel, and encased them in the unbreakable Negacion

"Mission accomplished..?" wondered Yammy

A third beam shone over the ice pile that covered Luppi and pulled his unconscious form out of there

The Arrancar's sudden withdrawal left everyone confused, this attack didn't feel like last time, there was definitely a game being played here, even if it wasn't apparent currently

* * *

**So, so bad, but i'm finally past it and i can get back into the flow. If you made it this far, cheers**


	42. Chapter 41: Detonation

**a/n - Hey guys, have a chapter thanks for reading =)**

* * *

Moll slapped Layne as hard as she could, the sound reverberating around the cramped room

The action spoke volumes about just how pissed off she was, Layne had nearly been killed a few times today and she could still muster enough anger to slap him hard enough to leave a large pink handprint on his left cheek

"I can't fucking believe you… there's a psychopathic killer clone of me running around, and you and Joel didn't tell me because fucking Urahara, a man who's judgement we question daily… asked you not to? What in the world were you thinking you fucking idiot"

"He asked me not to" Layne replied lightly "I actually got it, I was taking it pretty hard, it's not like it's a psychopathic clone of me running around"

"I… don't know Layne, we're friends, I can't believe you wouldn't trust me with the fact that there's a mirror of me running around with an axe to grind"

"It was my problem… if it wanted to grind its axe in you, you'd be the first to know… but it's pretty determined for my blood"

"Fuck you" Moll snapped, leaping to her feet "Just for this, I'm declaring our friendship suspended until you can treat me like a fucking equal again, Let me know when our friendship means anything to you again, I'm headed back to the Soul Society, At least I mean something to the people there.

Layne watched her go sadly, but rightly concluding that speaking up would mean that he would get slapped again

* * *

Urahara watched Moll storm out of Layne's front door and transfer over into a Hell Butterfly and head back to the Soul Society

Nearby, Ikkaku and Yumichika were being tended to by Tessai and Ururu, A battle more formidable than the one they had with Luppi

Hitsugaya listened to the various shouts of combat medicine and shook his head

"I swear, those guys are obnoxious wherever they are"

"Captain…" Matsumoto said, returning from an errand

"Have you gotten in contact with the Soul Society?"

Matsumoto nodded

* * *

Rukia's spirit phone dialed out, beeping in her ear until she removed it in disappointment

"It's strange that it won't connect to Inoue… I wonder if some kind of interference from the battles yesterday might be causing that"

Rukia glanced over at Ichigo's unconscious form, lying on his bed

The amazing part was how easily Isshin, Karin and Yuzu had accepted Rukia's stammered explanation

"_Ichigo must get beaten up a lot at school" _Rukia considered, thinking a bit further to when the Vizard had tracked Ichigo and Layne down and attempted to heal them

"_This is the best I can do… my powers aren't healing as such… more like a time regression. I need to specify a certain point of regression… but Ichigo's and Layne's reiatsu's are mixed in with the Arrancar they fought… I've done what I've can, but now they need to be away from people who have hollow like reiatsu, like ourselves"_

Rukia had complied, and taken Layne back to his house under Urahara's shop, and Ichigo back to his own house

"Dammit Ichigo" Rukia whispered, glaring at him has he slept "Just who the hell were those guys… and what kind of power are you and Layne trying to obtain, why did the Arrancar leave when they could've destroyed us, I just, don't, understand… I think I need some fresh air, I'm talking to myself… I'm going to go outside"

Rukia got up and left

At the same moment that Rukia shut the door, Orihime walked through the wall

"Okay… here we go"

Orihime glanced around Ichigo's room

"I'm really here" she whispered to herself, before staring at Ichigo and thinking to herself

_You know, I really wanted to say goodbye to a lot of people, like Tatsuki-chan and Sado-kun and Ishida-kun and Trell-kun and Kuchiki-san… but here I am_

She knelt down and grasped his hand, trembling slightly and then more and more, as she leaned in closer… and closer, until she stopped, the tears streaming down her face as she whispered

"I… just can't do it"

Orihime chuckled a little to herself as she stood up, wiping the tears from her face and leaning against the wall

"I'm so terrible, this is the end and I go and try for something like that"

Orihime sighed and stared up at the ceiling

"Oh Kurosaki-kun… I had so much that I wanted to do, I wanted to be a teacher, an astronaut, open a cake store, go to a donut store and say give me everything you have… go to an ice cream store and tell them to give me everything that they have"

Orihime looked back at Ichigo and continued, sadness coloring her voice

"If only I had five lives, then I could be from five different places, pig out on five different types of food, have five different jobs and I could… fall in love with the same person five times"

Orihime smiled sadly at Ichigo's unconscious form before turning to leave through the wall

"Thank you Kurosaki-kun… Goodbye"

* * *

Layne stood up from his bed and flexed, suddenly feeling a surge of energy which completely eliminated all the pain he had been in

After dropping down and doing thirty pushups he rolled over and noticed that the clothes he was in had some small blood drops, so panicking a bit, thinking he'd reopened a wound he quickly ripped off his shirt, only to notice that he was completely healed all over

"Man what in the world is happening to me" he muttered to himself "Not twelve hours ago I was at death's door, now I'm in better shape than I was before the fight"

Ichigo hit the floor headfirst as he tumbled out of bed

"What the…" he croaked sleepily "Did I just fall out of bed because I was having a nightmare… that's so lame"

He brought a hand to his head

_Man my head hurts like…_

His thought train trailed off because he noticed that his hand was completely and utterly healed, not a scratch on it

"It's…like new"

Ichigo brought it back to his head, concentrating as hard as he could in attempting to identify the reiatsu involved in the healing

"This reiatsu is…"

"Most likely from Inoue Orihime" Hitsugaya said from the window, in full shinigami form, his haori and hair slightly blowing in the breeze

"Come with me Kurosaki, this is an emergency"

* * *

Ikkaku, Yumichika, Joel, Renji, Layne and Rukia were watching the entrance of Orihime's bedroom as Ichigo and Hitsugaya walked in, they all nodded to them in acknowledgement of their arrival

"How's the interference removal going?" Hitsugaya asked Matsumoto, who was watching the hugeass TV set in the corner

"It appears to be finished" she replied distractedly, glancing back at him

"Good, connect us then"

Everyone directed their attention to the screen, which fizzled a bit and then Ukitake shimmered into existence.

"Taicho?" Joel and Rukia muttered questioningly

From their reaction and Hitsugaya's next words Ichigo gathered they hadn't been expecting him

"Ukitake… wheres the Soutaicho?"

"I'm taking his place" Ukitake answered solemnly

"For what reason?" Hitsugaya replied, narrowing his eyes

"Because I was one of the last person to see Orihime Inoue, before she entered the Senkai Gate"

The words hit the room like a hammer, everyone's expression changing to one of shock,

"Judging from your reactions" Ukitake continued, "She didn't arrive at your end"

"No…just Moll" Layne said, whirling around to Hitsugaya "You knew about this didn't you?"

Hitsugaya betrayed nothing… and in that Layne knew that he was right, but he bit his tongue as Ichigo spoke up

"…What's going on Ukitake-san… where did Inoue go, you guys know something about this… don't you?"

"I'll tell you what we think" Ukitake said "Third Seat Rone returned alive, and she believe that Orihime Inoue was either abducted… or killed by the Arrancar

"Ukitake-taichou" Rukia shouted at the screen

"I know I know" Ukitake said sadly "I didn't want to say it, but we need to talk about possible explanations, Third Seat Rone said they were confronted by an Arrancar and he threw her out of the soul currents, leaving Orihime Inoue with the Arrancar"

Ichigo clenched his fist and everyone noticed the sudden anger colouring his reiatsu

"Don't give me that bullshit!" He yelled "You're just saying she's dead without any proof, don't say shit like that whenever the hell you want!"

He held his fist up, close to the screen

"Look at this, my wrist was fucked up during yesterday's battle, no one could heal it, but when I got up this morning it was gone without any trace, and there's still some of Inoue's reiatsu in it… If you still think she died after this…"

"I see" a second voice replied behind Ukitake, softly yet sternly "That is unfortunate"

Ichigo stopped yelling as Yamamoto appeared next to Ukitake

"Soutaicho-dono…" Rukia muttered

"Just…what do you mean by unfortunate" Ichigo asked

"If your story is correct, then Orihime Inoue is still alive… but her actions suggest betrayal, if she had been abducted against her will, she would not have been allowed to see you again, to reiterate, the fact that she healed your wound and then vanished means that she joined the Arrancar of her own volition"

"That's craz-" Ichigo began shouting, when he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder

On his left was Renji

"Stop, you'll just make it worse if you keep talking" Renji said to Ichigo

And then to Yamamoto

"I understand this situation Soutaicho Yamamoto, and from here on out, I, Renji Abarai will go to Hueco Mundo in order to open the eyes of the traitor Orihime Inoue"

As he said this Renji turned and gave small smile to Ichigo

"Renji…" Ichigo whispered

"I forbid it!" Yamamoto declared, slamming his walking stick on the ground for extra emphasis "Now that we know that the Arrancar are preparing for war, all members of Hitsugaya's Advance Guard are to return and assist in the defense of the Soul Society"

"Does that mean…you're abandoning Inoue?" Rukia spoke up

"There is no point in weighing one life against the entire world"

"With all due respect Soutaicho" Rukia replied "I cannot obey that order"

"I expected this, and I'm glad I prepared for it" Yamamoto replied, as the sky darkened and a Senkai Gate opened behind everyone, sliding open to reveal Byakuya and Kenpachi

"Chh, that's how it is" Kenpachi said, "Get going you lot"

"Do not resist" Byakuya added "We have orders to use force if required"

Ikkaku, Yumichika, Hitsugaya, Joel and Matsumoto immediately entered the gate, but Rukia and Renji lingered behind

Ichigo stared at the ground for a second before speaking

"…I get it… I won't ask the Soul Society for help, but at least tell me how to get into Hueco Mundo, Inoue is my friend… I'll go and save her myself"

"I forbid it" Yamamoto repeated "Your power will be needed in the upcoming battle, I cannot allow you to act selfishly and then die meaninglessly, Stand by until you receive further orders"

The screen winked out and Ichigo slumped to the ground

"Ichigo…I'm so sorry" was Rukia's last words as she disappeared through the gate

Ichigo beat the ground with his fist, and then rounded on Layne

"So why didn't Moll tells us about this" he snarled, the full force of his anger being blasted at its only outlet

"You were unconscious jerkwad" Layne replied, seemingly calmly "I'm more pissed off that she didn't mention this to me, this highly insignificant event which means literally nothing at all to us"

Layne's sarcasm seemed to cool Ichigo down a little

"I guess… we'll just have to beat Aizen, and wait to save her" he growled, punching the wall, before exiting Orihime's room

Layne shook his head and thought to himself

_You couldn't be any more transparent if you tried_

* * *

Shinji was washing a cloth in a tap, when Lisa approached him

"Shouldn't you be training with Layne?" he asked

"He hasn't come back yet" Lisa replied, shrugging

"Shinjiiiii!" Mashiro shouted as she ran up to them, holding up a small bundle of something "Someone left this outside!"

"What is it?" Shinji asked

"Dunno" Mashiro replied

"Don't pick up strange things and bring them in here" Shinji said with a sweatdrop

Lisa poked through the bundle and extracted a bandage

"Washed bandages? From Ichigo?" Shinji wondered as he took a look "Why would he go to the trouble?"

Shinji and Lisa caught sight of the word written on it

"Thanks"

They glanced at each other

"Those fuckwits"

* * *

"Ichigo!"

Tatsuki shouted his name as he walked through the schoolyard with Keigo and Mizuiro

Layne, Chad, Uryuu and Orihime had been the only absentees that day

She walked up to him and grabbed him by the collar

"Where's Orihime?" she demanded

Ichigo attempted to feign no knowledge

"Why would you ask me?"

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT SHIT!" she erupted and slammed him against a window "I felt her presence disappear yesterday, and I looked everywhere for her"

"Why are you asking me?!" Ichigo repeated

"Do you really think… that I don't know anything" Tatsuki replied softly "I've seen you… and that new guy Trell in black kimono's… I've seen Ishida's weird outfit and that thing on Chad's arm… and all of you fighting with those things… enough already Ichigo, tell me everything that you've been hiding from me"

Ichigo watched her and made his choice

"It's… none of your business"

Tatsuki punched his head through the window, shattering it

"Arisawa!" exclaimed Keigo and Mizuiro rushing forwards

Keigo grabbed Tatsuki and held her back, while Mizuiro rushed to Ichigo's side

Ichigo wiped blood from his mouth with the back of his hand

"What… the hell?"

"WHAT AM I TO YOU!" Tatsuki shouted at him "AREN'T I YOUR FRIEND, YOUR ALLY… the one who's seen you through so many hard times… you don't… hide stuff from people like that"

Tatsuki leant forward in Keigo's grip and appeared to give up

Ichigo picked himself up and shoved his hands into his pockets

"Kiego… Mizuiro, take care of Tatsuki… and do me a favor, Don't associate with me from now on"

Ichigo stalked off, leaving Keigo, Mizuiro and Tatsuki to watch him

* * *

The night had fallen, and Ichigo walked up to the Urahara store alone

Urahara was outside, smoking from his pipe

"Welcome, I was just thinking it was time you showed up… Kurosaki-san"

"Why would you think that?" Ichigo replied

"You think I know… the way to Hueco Mundo, and this confirms it"

Urahara turned around and slid open the shop door

"Come on, the preparations are finished"

As they walked, Urahara talked

"I feared that Aizen may have been gunning for Inoue's abilities from the start, so I attempted to remove her from the battle, but I was too late, I took her feelings into the equation and didn't hide her away fast enough… That's why; I intend to do everything I can to help now"

"Is that ok though?" Ichigo replied "You'll be disobeying the Soul Society"

"In one way or another, I've been disobeying them from the start; it's why I'm here"

They walked in silence for about a minute and Ichigo attempted to see if there were any signs of life from Layne's house out of habit

_Of course there won't be… he should be with the Vizard_

"That's a pretty long face… Kurosaki" Uryuu spoke up from atop a nearby pillar

"Ishida? Why are you here?" Ichigo asked, surprised

"Isn't it obvious" Chad spoke walking out from behind another pillar "To go to Hueco Mundo"

"What, did you think you were going alone?" Layne added, appearing from a third pillar, clothed in his street clothes, a black, brown and cream flanno over a black shirt which had the Green Lantern symbol on the front. Blue jeans and white runners rounded out the ensemble.

"Chad… Layne…"

"Urahara-san told us the news, and we're coming too" Chad explained

Ichigo's expression hardened

"Ishida… Chad… Layne, I appreciate the sentiment, but you guys can't… not with your power"

"Ichigo!" Chad shouted, forming a differently shaped Right Arm of the Giant, and punching Zangetsu, which Ichigo brought up to block just in time

His reiatsu scattered, causing a large explosion

When most of the smoke cleared, the tip of Chad's fist was still smoking

"Is my power… still not enough? Ichigo"

"Ichigo" Layne growled, attracting Ichigo's attention

"You jackass, I bet you thought you were being clever and sneaky when we were at Orihime's earlier"

As a point in fact Ichigo had, but he didn't want to admit it and make himself look stupid

Layne continued, drawing one of his zanpakuto and twirling around idly

"Believe in us Ichigo, don't be so stupid to think you need to bear this burden alone"

"That is what friends are for" Chad added

"Yes, yes" Urahara said, clapping as Layne sheathed his Zanpakuto and dispersed his mask "Are you all ready then?"

The four of them turned to look at Urahara, their determination reflected in their expressions

_At last, it seems you are_

On the other side of Chad's and Uryuu's pillars were two wooden beams that poked out from the rock

Urahara jumped up onto one of them and began reciting

"In my right hand I hold the stone that connects the worlds; In my left hand I hold the blade that binds existence…"

Ichigo, Ishida, Chad and Layne all glanced at each other and nodded

Ichigo whispered to Layne "Where's your shinigami uniform"

Layne grinned and whispered back "Lisa showed me how to get normal clothes in this, It won't change how I fight, but damned if I don't feel a lot better like this"

Urahara finished his incantation and opened at large oval shaped power between the two beams

"This is a Garganta, there is no path… just a turbulent flow of reishi, if you head towards the darkness you should find Hueco Mundo"

"Understood… Urahara-san, Please take care of my family, and tell them nice things so they don't worry about me."

"And your friends?"

"I'll apologize to them… when we bring Orihime back"

Layne buttoned up his flanno and adjusted his sleeves, as Chad flexed his arms and Uryuu pushed his glasses back up his face

Ichigo looked at the ground and then the Garganta

"Let's go"

With a gigantic leap, the four of them disappeared into it, and Urahara closed the gaping maw behind them.

* * *

**a/n - There we go, hope you enjoyed the much shorter post period between last chapter and this one, heh**


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